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BOOK    370  9714M382    =.^      EDUCATION 


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THE 


MASSACHUSETTS   SYSTEM  ,<;,; 


COMMON     SCHOOLS; 


ENLARGED  AND   REVISED  EDITION 


TENTH    ANNUAL    REPORT 


THE     FIRST     SECRETARY 


MASSACHUSETTS  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 


BOSTON: 

DUTTON  AND  WENTWORTH,  STATE  PRINTERS, 

NO.  37,    CONGRESS  STREET. 

1849. 


I    Lowell  nr;?'^^^^^^^. 
I         ^  _^  ^^ty  Library,    f 

liT"'^*^''. /^  J  I 


*®^«»«£«»as^3s,3j,__._ : I 


(Hommontucaltl)    of    Ulaasacljttsetts. 


Secretary  of  State's  Office, 
Dear  Sir,  Boston,  May  4,  1849. 

I  transmit  to  you  an  attested  copy  of  the  "  Resolves  relating  to  a  Reprint  of 
the  Tentli  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  tlie  Board  of  Education,"  passed,  I  be- 
lieve unanimously,  by  the  Legislature,  at  its  late  session ;  and  remain. 
With  great  respect,        ■    ,       . 
Your  obedient  servant, 
Hon.  Horace  Mann.  W.  B.  CALHOUN. 


COMMONWEALTH  OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


In  tlie  Year  One  Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and  Forty-Nine. 


RESOLVES 

Relating  to  a  Reprint  of  the  Tenth  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 

Education. 

Resolved,  That  the  late  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  Honorable 
Horace  Mann,  be  hereby  appointed  to  prepare  for  republication,  so  much  of 
his  Tenth  Annual  Report  as,  with  the  requisite  additions  and  alterations,  to  be 
also  made  by  him,  will  exliibit  a  just  and  correct  view  of  the  Common  School 
system  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  provisions  of  law  relating  to  it. 

Resolved,  That  there  be  printed  ten  tliousand  copies  of  such  republication, 
to  be  distributed  and  disposed  of  in  the  same  manner  as  is  now  or  may  be  pro- 
vided in  regard  to  the  annual  reports  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  and  Council  be  authorized  to  determine  the 
compensation  to  be  made  to  Mr.  Mann  for  the  foregoing  service,  and  to  draw 
upon  the  treasurer  of  the  Commonwealtli  for  the  amount. 


House  of  Representatives,  March  21,  1849. 
Passed.  FRANCIS  B.  CROWNINSHIELD,  Speaker. 

In  Senate,  March  22,  1849. 
Passed.  JOSEPH  BELL,  President. 

March  23,  1848.— Approved. 

GEO.  N.  BRIGGS. 


Secretary's  Office  ;  Boston,  March  23,  1849. 
I  certify  the  foregoing  to  be  a  true  copy  of  the  original  Resolves. 

WM.  B.  CALHOUN,  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth. 


To  His  Excellency^  George  N.  Briggs,  Governor,  and 
the  Honorable  Council,  of  the  Commomvealth  of  Massor 
chusetts : — 

Gentlemen; — In  pursuance  of  the  Hesolves  above 
cited,  I  have  carefully  revised  the  Tenth  Annual  Report, 
therein  referred  to,  and  superintended  its  publication. 

According  to  my  understanding  of  the  Resolves,  they 
did  not  contemplate  any  substantial  change  in  the  plan 
or  structure  of  the  Report ;  but  only  such  modifications 
of  its  details,  as  v^ould  make  it  the  true  representative 
and  illustrator  of  our  Public  School  system,  as  it  now 
exists. 

In  conformity  with  this  view,  I  have  subjected  the  Re- 
port to  such  changes  and  additions,  as  the  legislation  of 
the  State  for  the  last  three  years  has  rendered  necessary ; 
and  have  incorporated  into  it  all  the  leadmg  decisions 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  so  far  as  they  interpret  and  apply 
the  statute  law. 

I  have  also  subjoined  to  the  Report,  in  a  chronological 
order,  all  the  statute  laws  of  the  Commonwealth,  now  in 
force,  on  the  subject  of  Public  Instruction.  A  few  enact- 
ments that  have  been  repealed  or  superseded,  are  also 
inserted,  on  account  of  the  light  which  they  throw  on 
existing  laws,  and  on  the  history  and  progress  of  our 
educational  legislation. 

In  this  part  of  the  work,  it  has  been  my  endeavor, 
wherever  a  previous  statute  has  been  limited,  enlarged, 
or  otherwise  modified  by  a  succeeding  one,  to  refer  to  the 


modifying  statute,  iii  the  body  of  the  one  so  modified,  or 
at  its  end.  This  will  make  all  references  easy,  and  will 
give  notice  to  all  readers  that  the  former  statute  is  not 
to  be  received  as  the  existing  law,  without  an  examina- 
tion of  the  one  referred  to. 

The  Statistical  and  Graduated  Tables,  for  the  current 
year,  which  are  also  inserted,  were  prepared  under  the 
direction  of  my  successor  in  ofiice.  Without  an  exami- 
nation of  this  class  of  Tables,  our  Common  School  sys- 
tem cannot  be  well  understood. 

A  copious  Index  to  the  Report  closes  the  work, — all  of 
which,  in  a  pruited  form,  I  have  now  the  honor  most 
respectfully  to  submit. 

HORACE  MANN. 

West  Newton,  Nov.  29th,  1849. 


MASSACHUSETTS  SYSTEM 

OF 

COMMON     SCHOOLS. 


To  WRITE  a  History  of  Popular  Education  in  Massachusetts 
would  be  a  work  of  great  interest,  and  of  little  difficulty. 
Such  a  history,  however,  seems  not  to  have  been  contemplated, 
and,  therefore,  would  not  be  warranted,  by  those  Resolves  of  the 
Legislature  under  which  the  following  pages  are  prepared. 
The  Resolves  provide  only  for  "the  republication  of  so  much  of 
his  [the  late  Secretary's]  Tenth  Annual  Report,  as,  with  the 
requisite  additions  and  alterations,  will  exhibit  a  just  and  correct 
view  of  the  Common  School  system  of  Massachusetts,  and  the 
provisions  of  law  relating  to  it."  An  adequate  idea  of  this 
"  system,"  however,  can  hardly  be  obtained  without  a  brief 
reference  to  its  origin,  and  to  those  great  fundamental  principles, 
which  its  authors  and  supporters  seem  rather  to  have  tacitly 
assumed  than  to  have  fully  expounded. 

The  Pilgrim  Fathers  who  colonized  Massachusetts  Bay 
made  a  bolder  innovation  upon  all  preexisting  policy  and 
usages  than  the  world  had  ever  known  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Christian  era.  They  adopted  special  and  costly 
means  to  train  up  the  whole  body  of  the  people  to  industry,  to 
intelligence,  to  virtue,  and  to  independent  thought.  The  first 
entry,  in  the  public  record-book  of  the  town  of  Boston,  bears 
date,  "  1634,  7th  month,  day  1."  The  records  of  the  public 
meetings  for  the  residue  of  that  year  pertain  to  those  obvious 
necessities  that  claimed  the  immediate  attention  of  an  infant 
settlement.  But  in  the  transactions  of  a  public  meeting,  held 
on  the  13th  day  of  April,  1635,  the  following  entry  is  found : 
"  Likewise  it  was  then  generally  agreed  upon,  that  our  brother 
Philemon  Purmont  [or  Purment]  shall  be  intreated  to  become 
scholemaster  for  the  teaching  and  nourtering  of  children  with 
us."  Mr.  Purmont  was  not  expected  to  render  his  services 
gratuitously.     Doubtless  he  received  fees  from  parents;   but 


8 

the  same  records  show  that  a  tract  of  thirty  acres  of  land,  at 
"  Muddy  River,"  was  assigned  to  him ;  and  this  grant,  two 
years  afterwards,  was  publicly  confirmed.  About  the  same 
time,  an  assignment  was  made  of  a  "  garden  plott  to  Mr.  Daniel 
Maude,  schoolemaster,  upon  the  condition  of  building  thereon, 
if  neede  be."  From  this  time  forward,  these  golden  threads 
are  thickly  inwoven  in  the  texture  of  all  the  public  records  of 
Boston. 

It  is  not  unworthy  of  remark,  that  a  word  of  beautiful  sig- 
nificance, which  is  found  in  the  first  record  on  the  subject  of 
schools  ever  made  on  this  continent,  has  now  fallen  wholly  out 
of  use.  Mr.  Purmont  was  entreated  to  become  a  "  scholemas- 
ter,"  not  merely  for  the  ''  teaching,"  but  for  the  "  nourtering" 
of  children.  If,  as  is  supposed,  this  word,  now  obsolete  in  this 
connection,  implied  the  disposition  and  the  power,  on  the  part 
of  the  teacher,  as  far  as  such  an  object  can  be  accomplished 
by  human  instrumentality,  to  warm  into  birth,  to  foster  into 
strength,  and  to  advance  into  jjrecedence  and  predominance, 
all  kindly  sympathies  towards  men,  all  elevated  thoughts 
respecting  the  duties  and  the  destiny  of  life,  and  a  supreme 
reverence  for  the  character  and  attributes  of  the  Creator,  then 
how  many  teachers  have  since  been  employed,  who  have  not 
NOURISHED  the  children  committed  to  their  care  ! 

In  1642,  the  General  Court  of  the  colony,  by  a  public  act, 
enjoined  upon  the  municipal  authorities  the  duty  of  seeing  that 
every  child,  within  their  respective  jurisdictions,  should  be  edu- 
cated. Nor  was  the  education  which  they  contemplated  either 
narrow  or  superficial.  By  the  terms  of  the  act,  the  selectmen 
of  every  town  were  required  to  "  have  a  vigilant  eye  over  their 
brethren  and  neighbors, — to  see  first  that  none  of  them  shall 
suffer  so  much  barbarism  in  any  of  their  families,  as  not  to  en- 
deavor to  teach,  by  themselves  or  others,  their  children  and 
apprentices,  so  much  learning,  as  may  enable  them  perfectly  to 
read  the  English  tongue,  and  [obtain  a]  knowledge  of  the  cap- 
ital laws ;  upon  penalty  of  twenty  shillings  for  each  neglect 
therein." 

Such  was  the  idea  of  "  barbarism,"  entertained  by  the  colo- 
nists of  Massachusetts  Bay  more  than  two  centiuries  ago. 
Tried  by  this  standard,  even  at  the  present  day,  the  regions  of 


civilization  become  exceedingly  narrow ;  and  many  a  man, 
who  noAV  blindly  glories  in  the  name  and  in  the  prerogatives 
of  a  republican  citizen,  would,  according  to  the  better  ideas  of 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  be  known  only  as  the  "  barbarian"  father 
of  "barbarian"  children. 

The  same  act  further  required  that  religious  instruction 
should  be  given  to  all  children ;  and  also,  "  that  all  parents 
and  masters  do  breed  and  bring  up  their  children  and  appren- 
tices in  some  honest,  lawful  calling,  labor,  or  employment, 
either  in  husbandry  or  some  other  trade,  profitable  for  them- 
selves and  the  Commonwealth  ;  if  they  will  not  or  cannot  train 
them  up  in  learning  to  fit  them  for  higher  employments." 

Thus  were  recognized  and  embodied,  in  a  public  statute, 
the  highest  principles  of  Political  Economy  and  of  social  well- 
being  ; — the  universal  education  of  children,  and  the  prevention 
of  drones  or  non-producers  among  men. 

By  the  same  statute,  the  selectmen  and  magistrates  were  em- 
powered to  take  children  and  servants  from  the  custody  of 
those  parents  and  masters,  who,  "  after  admonition,"  "  were 
still  negligent  of  their  duty  in  the  particulars  above  mentioned," 
and  to  bind  them  out  to  such  masters  as  they  should  deem 
worthy  to  supply  the  place  of  the  unnatural  parent, — boys 
until  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  girls  until  that  of  eighteen. 

The  law  of  1642  enjoined  universal  education,  but  it  did  not 
make  education  free  ;  nor  did  it  impose  any  penalty  upon  mu- 
nicipal corporations  for  neglecting  to  maintain  a  school.  The 
spirit  of  the  law,  however,  worked  energetically  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people  ;  for,  in  Governor  Winthrop's  Journal,  (History 
of  New  England,  vol.  2,  p.  215,  Savage's  edition,)  under  date 
of  1645,  we  find  the  following :  '•  Divers  free  schools  were 
erected,  as  at  Roxbury,  (for  maintenance  whereof  every  inhab- 
itant bound  some  house  or  land  for  a  yearly  allowance  forever,) 
and  at  Boston,  where  they  made  an  order  to  allow  fifty  pounds 
to  the  master  and  an  house,  and  thirty  pounds  to  an  usher,  who 
should  also  teach  to  read  and  write  and  cipher,  and  Indians' 
children  were  to  be  taught  freely,  and  the  charge  to  be  by 
yearly  contribution,  either  by  voluntary  allowance,  or  by  rate 
of  such  as  refused,  &c.,  and  this  order  was  confirmed  by  the 


10 

General  Court.     Other  towns  did  the  Hke,  providing  mainte- 
nance by  several  means.'' 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  some  towns,  owing  to  the 
sparseness  of  their  population  and  the  scantiness  of  their  re- 
sources, found  all  the  moneys  in  their  treasury  too  little  to  pay 
the  salary  of  a  master ;  and,  surrounded  by  dangers,  as  they 
were,  from  the  ferocity  of  the  aborigines  and  the  inclemency 
of  the  climate,  believed  that  not  an  eye  could  be  spared  from 
watching  nor  a  hand  from  labor,  even  for  so  sacred  a  purpose 
as  that  of  instruction ;  and  therefore  failed  to  sustain  a  school 
for  the  teaching  and  "  nourtering"  of  their  children.  But,  in 
all  these  privations  and  disabilities,  the  government  of  the  col- 
ony saw  no  adequate  excuse  for  neglecting  the  one  thing  need- 
ful. They  saw  and  felt,  that,  if  "  learning  were  to  be  buried 
in  the  graves  of  their  forefathers,  in  Church  and  Common- 
wealth," then  they  had  escaped  from  the  house  of  bondage, 
and  swam  an  ocean,  and  braved  the  terrors  of  the  wilderness, 
in  vain.  In  the  year  1647,  therefore,  a  law  was  passed  making 
the  support  of  schools  compulsory,  and  education  both  univer- 
sal and  Free. 

By  this  law,  every  town,  containing  fifty  householders,  was 
required  to  appoint  a  teacher,  "  to  teach  all  such  children  as 
shall  resort  to  him  to  write  and  read ;"  and  every  town,  con- 
taining one  hundred  families  or  householders,  was  required  to 
'•'set  up  a  grammar  school,"  whose  master  should  be  "able  to 
instruct  youth  so  far  as  they  may  be  fitted  for  the  university." 

The  penalty  for  non-compliance  with  the  above  requirements 
was  five  pounds  per  annum.  In  1671,  the  penalty  was  in- 
creased to  ten  pounds  per  annum ;  in  1683,  to  twenty  pounds ; 
and,  in  1718,  to  thirty  pounds,  for  every  town  containing  one 
hundred  and  fifty  families ;  to  forty  pounds,  for  every  town 
containing  two  hundred  families  ;  and  so  on,  pro  rata,  for  towns 
containing  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  families. 
The  penalty  was  increased,  from  time  to  time,  to  correspond 
with  the  increasing  wealth  of  the  towns.  All  forfeitures  were^ 
appropriated  to  the  maintenance  of  Public  Schools.* 

*  It  is  well  known  that,  in  the  dearth  of  the  precious  metals  which  prevailed  among  the 
early  settlers  of  Massachusetts,  llic  colonial  and  provincial  governments  made  various  kinds 


11 

It  is  common  to  say  that  the  act  of  1647  laid  the  foundation 

of  our  present  system  of  Free  Schools.  But  the  truth  is,  it 
not  only  laid  the  foundation  of  the  present  system,  but,  in  some 
particulars,  it  laid  a  far  broader  foundation  than  has  since  been 
built  upon,  and  reared  a  far  higher  superstructure  than  has  since 
been  sustained.  Modern  times  have  witnessed  great  improve- 
ments in  the  methods  of  instruction  and  in  the  motives  of  dis- 
cipline ;  but,  in  some  respects,  the  ancient  foundation  has  been 
narrowed,  and  the  ancient  superstructure  lowered.  The  term 
"  grammar  school,"  in  the  old  laws,  always  meant  a  school 
Avhere  the  ancient  languages  were  taught,  and  where  youth 
could  be  "fitted  for  the  university."     Every  town,  containing 

of  grain, — wheat,  rye,  barle}',  Indian  corn,  &c., — with  several  other  commodities,  a  legal 
tender  in  payment  of  debts,  and  received  them  for  taxes.  In  our  early  leg'islation  and  his- 
tory, these  were  called  "  country  pay."  From  time  to  time,  the  law  determined  the  value  of 
the  bushel,  or  unit,  of  each  kind  of  product.  On  an  examination  of  twenty  such  deter- 
minations of  value,  made  from  1642  to  1G9-1.,  inclusive,  I  find  that  Indian  com  was  rated 
at  from  one  shilling  and  two  pence  a  bushel  to  three  shillings  and  six  pence ;  and  that  the 
average  for  this  whole  period  was,  within  a  very  slight  fraction,  two  shillings  and  ten  pence  a 
bushel. 

Allowing  six  persons  to  a  family,  a  town  of  three  hundred  families  would  contain  a  popu- 
lation of  eighteen  hundred. 

To  pay  a  fine  of  sixty  pounds,  therefore,  to  which  such  a  town  would  be  liable  by  one  of 
the  laws  above  referred  to,  if  paid  in  Indian  corn,  at  the  average  of  the  prices  which  pre- 
vailed from  1G42  to  1694,  would  require  four  hundred  and  twenty-three  bushels. 

The  rates  of  labor,  as  ordained  by  the  colonial  government,  show,  in  a  still  more  striking 
manner,  how  heavily  the  towns  were  mulcted  for  neglecting  to  support  schools. 

Under  date  of  September  30,  1630,  "  It  is  ordered,  that  laborers  shall  not  take  aboue  12d 
a  day  for  their  work  and  not  aboue  6d  and  mcate  aud  drink  under  paine  of  10s  ;  noe  master 
carpenter,  mason,  joyner  or  bricklayer,  shall  take  aboue  16d  a  day  for  their  worke,  if  they 
have  meate  and  drink, — and  the  second  sort  not  aboue  12d  a  day  under  payne  of  10s  both 
to  giuer  and  receauer." 

At  these  rates,  it  would  take  a  laborer,  (liaving  board,)  four  hundred  and  eighty  daj"S  to 
pay  a  fine  of  one  pound.  The  penalty  imposed  upon  towns,  by  the  law  of  1647,  for  not 
maintaining  a  free  school,  was  five  pounds, — equivalent,  at  the  above  rate,  to  the  work  of  a 
common  laborer,  (with  board,  but  without  clothing,)  for  twenty-four  hundred  days ;  or  all 
the  working  days  in  almost  eight  years. 

Under  date  of  September  3,  1634,  it  was  ordered,  that  "  noc  person  lliat  keepes  an  ordi- 
nary shall  take  above  6d  a  mcale  for  a  person,  and  not  above  Id  for  an  ale  quarte  for  beare 
out  of  meale  time  vnder  the  penalty  of  10s  for  eury  offence,  either  of  dyet  or  beare." 

In  1654,  May  3,  the  following  order  was  made : — "  As  the  countrje  is  in  debt,  no  stock  in 
the  treasury,  no  meanes,  at  present,  to  raise  any,  so  that  workmen  cannot  be  procured  to 
finish  the  Castle,  which  yctt  is  necessary  forthwith  to  be  done,"  the  several  military  compa- 
nies must  do  it ;  one  division  of  them  by  having  each  of  their  soldiers  labor  three  days  on 
this  fortification,  and  another  by  being  individually  assessed  4s  6d.  Hence  it  would  seem 
^  that  4s  6d  were  held  to  be  an  equivalent  for  three  days'  work  on  the  Castle,  and  going  to 
'-'and  reluming  from  the  work. — §ee  An  historical  account  of  Massachusetts  Currency,  by 
Joseph  B.  Felt. 


12 

one  hundred  families  or  householders,  was  required  to  keep 
such  a  school.  Were  such  a  law  in  force  at  the  present  time, 
there  are  not  more  than  twelve  towns  in  the  Commonwealth 
which  would  be  exempt  from  its  requisitions.  But  the  term 
"grammar  school"  has  wholly  lost  its  original  meaning;  and 
the  number  of  towns  and  cities  which  are  now  required  by  law 
to  maintain  a  school,  where  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages  are 
taught,  and  where  youth  can  be  fitted  for  college,  does  not 
exceed  thirty.  The  contrast  between  our  ancestors  and  our- 
selves, in  this  respect,  is  most  humiliating.  Their  meanness 
in  wealth  was  more  than  compensated  by  their  grandeur  of 
soul. 

The  institution  of  a  Free  School  system,  on  so  broad  a  ba- 
sis and  of  such  ample  proportions,  appears  still  more  remarkable, 
when  we  consider  the  period,  in  the  world's  history,  at  which 
it  was  originated,  and  the  fewness  and  poverty  of  the  people  by 
whom  it  was  maintained.  In  1647,  the  entire  population  of 
the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  is  supposed  to  have  amounted 
only  to  twenty-one  thousand  souls.  The  scattered  and  feeble 
settlements  were  almost  buried  in  the  depths  of  the  forest. 
The  external  resources  of  the  peojjle  were  small,  their  dwellings 
humble,  and  their  raiment  and  subsistence  scanty  and  homely. 
They  had  no  enriching  commerce,  and  the  wonderful  forces  of 
nature  had  not  then,  as  now,  become  gratuitous  producers  of 
every  human  comfort  and  luxury.  The  whole  valuation  of  all 
the  colonial  estates,  both  public  and  private,  would  hardly  have 
been  equal  to  the  inventory  of  many  a  jn-ivate  citizen  of  the 
present  day.  The  fierce  eye  of  the  savage  was  nightly  seen 
glaring  from  the  edge  of  the  surrounding  wilderness,  and  no 
defence  or  succor,  save  in  their  own  brave  natures,  was  at 
hand.  Yet  it  was  then,  amid  all  these  privations  and  dangers, 
that  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  conceived  the  magnificent  idea,  not 
only  of  a  Universal,  but  of  a  Free  education  for  the  whole  peo- 
ple. To  find  the  time  and  the  means  to  reduce  this  grand 
conception  to  practice,  they  stinted  themselves,  amid  all  their 
poverty,  to  a  still  scantier  pittance  ;  amid  all  their  toils,  they 
imposed  upon  themselves  still  more  burdensome  labors ;  and, 
amid  all  their  perils,  they  braved  still  greater  dangers.     Two 


13 

divine  ideas  filled  their  great  hearts, — their  duty  to  God  and  to 
posterity.  For  the  one,  they  built  the  church ;  for  the  other, 
they  opened  the  school.  Religion  and  Knowledge ! — two 
attributes  of  the  same  glorious  and  eternal  truth,  and  that  truth 
the  only  one  on  which  immortal  or  mortal  happiness  can  be 
securely  founded ! 

It  is  impossible  for  us  adequately  to  conceive  the  boldness  of 
the  measure  which  aimed  at  universal  education,  through  the 
establishment  of  Free  Schools.  As  a  fact,  it  had  no  precedent 
in  the  world's  history ;  and,  as  a  theory,  it  could  have  been 
refuted  and  silenced  by  a  more  formidable  array  of  argument 
and  experience  than  was  ever  marshalled  against  any  other  in- 
stitution of  human  origin.  But  time  has  ratified  its  soundness. 
Two  centuries  of  successful  operation  now  proclaim  it  to  be  as 
wise  as  it  was  courageous,  and  as  beneficent  as  it  was  disinter- 
ested. Every  community  in  the  civilized  world  awards  it 
the  meed  of  praise ;  and  states  at  home,  and  nations  abroad, 
in  the  order  of  their  intelligence,  are  copying  the  bright  exam- 
ple. What  we  call  the  enlightened  nations  of  Christendom, 
are  approaching,  by  slow  degrees,  to  the  moral  elevation  which 
our  ancestors  reached  at  a  single  bound ;  and  the  tardy  convic- 
tions of  the  one,  have  been  assimilating,  through  a  period  of 
two  centuries,  to  the  intuitions  of  the  other. 

The  establishment  of  Free  Schools  was  one  of  those  grand 
mental  and  moral  experiments  whose  effects  could  not  be  de- 
veloped and  made  manifest  in  a  single  generation.  But  now, 
according  to  the  manner  in  which  human  life  is  computed,  we 
are  the  sixth  generation  from  its  founders ;  and  have  we  not 
reason  to  be  grateful,  both  to  God  and  man,  for  its  unnumbered 
blessings !  The  sincerity  of  our  gratitude  must  be  tested  by 
our  efforts  to  perpetuate  and  to  improve  what  they  established. 
The  gratitude  of  the  lips  only  is  an  unholy  offering. 

In  surveying  our  vast  country, — the  rich  savannas  of  the 
south,  and  the  almost  interminable  prairies  of  the  west, — that 
great  valley,  where,  if  all  the  nations  of  Europe  were  set  down 
together,  they  could  find  ample  subsistence, — the  ejaculation 
involuntarily  bursts  forth,  "  Why  were  they  not  colonized 
BY  men  like  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  ?" — and  as  we  reflect,  how 


14 

different  would  have  been  the  fortunes  of  this  nation,  had  those 
states, — ah'eady  so  numerous,  and  still  extending,  circle  beyond 
circle, — been  founded  by  men  of  high,  heroic,  puritan  mould ; 
how  different  in  the  eye  of  a  righteous  Heaven,  how  different 
in  the  estimation  of  the  wise  and  good  of  all  contemporary  na- 
tions, how  different  in  the  fortunes  of  that  vast  procession  of 
the  generations  which  are  yet  to  rise  up  over  all  those  wide 
expanses,  and  to  follow  each  other  to  the  end  of  time ; — as  we 
reflect  upon  these  things,  it  seems  almost  pious  to  repine  at  the 
ways  of  Providence ;  resignation  becomes  laborious,  and  we 
are  forced  to  choke  down  our  murmurings  at  the  will  of 
Heaven !  Is  it  the  solution  of  this  deep  mystery,  that  our 
ancestors  did  as  much  in  their  time,  as  it  is  ever  given  to 
one  generation  of  men  to  accomplish,  and  have  left  to  us  and 
to  our  descendants  the  completion  of  the  glorious  work  they 
began  ? 

The  alleged  ground  upon  which  the  founders  of  our  Free 
School  system  proceeded,  when  adopting  it,  did  not  embrace 
the  whole  argument  by  which  it  may  be  defended  and  sus- 
tained. Their  insight  was  better  than  their  reason.  They 
assumed  a  ground,  indeed,  satisfactory  and  convincing  to 
Protestants  ;  but,  at  that  time,  only  a  small  portion  of  Christen- 
dom was  Protestant,  and  even  now  only  a  minority  of  it  is  so. 
The  very  ground  on  which  our  Free  Schools  were  founded, 
therefore,  if  it  were  the  only  one,  would  have  been  a  reason, 
with  more  than  half  of  Christendom,  for  their  immediate  abo- 
lition. 

In  later  times,  and  since  the  achievement  of  American  inde- 
pendence, the  universal  and  ever-repeated  argument  in  favor  of 
Free  Schools  has  been,  that  the  general  intelligence  which 
they  are  capable  of  diffusing,  and  which  can  be  imparted  by 
no  other  human  instrumentality,  is  indispensable  to  the  contin- 
uance of  a  republican  government.  This  argument,  it  is  obvi- 
ous, assumes,  as  a  postulatum,  the  superiority  of  a  republican 
over  all  other  forms  of  government ;  and,  as  a  people,  we  re- 
ligiously believe  in  the  soundness,  both  of  the  assumption  and 
of  the  argument  founded  upon  it.  But  if  this  be  all,  then  a 
sincere  monarchist,  or  a  defender  of  arbitrary  power,  or  a  be- 


15 

liever  in  the  divine  right  of  kings,  would  oppose  Free  Schools, 
for  the  identical  reasons  we  olTer  in  their  behalf.  A  perfect 
demonstration  of  our  doctrine, — that  Free  Schools  are  the  only 
basis  of  republican  institutions, — would  be  the  perfection  of 
proof,  to  his  mind,  that  they  should  be  immediately  extermi- 
nated. 

Admitting,  nay,  claiming  for  ourselves,  the  substantial  just- 
ness and  soundness  of  the  general  grounds  on  which  our  sys- 
tem was  originally  established  and  has  since  been  maintained, 
yet  it  is  most  obvious  that,  unless  some  broader  and  more  com- 
prehensive principle  can  be  found,  the  system  of  Free  Schools 
will  be  repudiated  by  whole  nations  as  impolitic  and  dangerous  ; 
and,  even  among  ourselves,  all  who  deny  our  premises  will,  of 
course,  set  at  nought  the  conclusions  to  which  they  lead. 

Again ;  the  expediency  of  Free  Schools  is  sometimes  advo- 
cated on  grounds  of  Political  Economy.  An  educated  people 
is  always  a  more  industrious  and  productive  people.  Knowl- 
edge and  Abundance  sustain  to  each  other  the  relation  of  cause 
and  effect.  Intelligence  is  a  primary  ingredient  in  the  Wealth 
of  Nations.  Where  this  does  not  stand  at  the  head  of  the  in- 
ventory, the  items  in  a  nation's  valuation  will  be  few,  and  the 
sum  at  the  foot  of  the  column  insignificant. 

The  moralist,  too,  takes  up  the  argument  of  the  economist. 
He  demonstrates  that  vice  and  crime  are  not  only  prodigals  and 
spendthrifts  of  their  own,  but  defrauders  and  plunderers  of  the 
means  of  others ;  that  they  would  seize  upon  all  the  gains  of 
honest  industry,  and  exhaust  the  bounties  of  Heaven  itself, 
without  satiating  their  rapacity  for  new  means  of  indulgence  ; 
and  that  often,  in  the  history  of  the  world,  whole  generations 
might  have  been  trained  to  industry  and  virtue  by  the  Avealth 
which  one  enemy  to  his  race  has  destroyed. 

And  yet,  notwithstanding  these  views  have  been  presented  a 
thousand  times,  with  irrefutable  logic,  and  with  a  divine  elo- 
quence of  truth  which  it  would  seem  that  nothing  but  com- 
bined stolidity  and  depravity  could  resist,  there  is  not  at  the 
present  time,  with  the  exception  of  the  states  of  New  England 
and  a  few  small  communities  elsewhere,  a  country  or  a  state  in 
Christendom,  which  maintains  a  system  of  Free  Schools  for 


16 

the  education  of  its  children.    Even  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
with  all  its  noble  endowments,  the  Schools  are  not  Free.* 

I  believe  that  this  amazing  dereliction  from  duty,  especially 
in  our  own  country,  originates  more  in  the  false  notions  which 
men  entertain  respecting  the  nature  of  their  right  to  property, 
than  in  any  thing  else.  In  the  district  school  meeting,  in  the 
town  meeting,  in  legislative  halls,  every  where,  the  advocates 
for  a  more  generous  education  could  carry  their  respective  au- 
diences with  them  in  behalf  of  increased  privileges  for  our 
children,  were  it  not  instinctively  foreseen  that  increased  priv- 
ileges must  be  followed  by  increased  taxation.  Against  this 
obstacle,  argument  falls  dead.  The  rich  man,  who  has  no 
children,  declares  that  the  exaction  of  a  contribution  from  him, 
to  educate  the  children  of  his  neighbor,  is  an  invasion  of  his 
rights  of  property.  The  man  who  has  reared  and  educated  a 
family  of  children  denounces  it  as  a  double  tax,  when  he  is 
called  upon  to  assist  in  educating  the  children  of  others  also ; 
or,  if  he  has  reared  his  own  children  without  educating  them, 
he  thinks  it  peculiarly  oppressive  to  be  obliged  to  do  for  others 
what  he  refrained  from  doing  even  for  himself.  Another,  hav- 
ing children,  but  disdaining  to  educate  them  with  the  common 
mass,  withdraws  them  from  the  Public  School,  puts  them  under 
what  he  calls  "  selecter  influences,"  and  then  thinks  it  a  griev- 
ance to  be  obliged  to  support  a  school  which  he  contemns.  Or, 
if  these  different  parties  so  far  yield  to  the  force  of  traditionary 
sentiment  and  usage,  and  to  the  public  opinion  around  them,  as 
to  consent  to  do  something  for  the  cause,  they  soon  reach  the 
limit  of  expense  at  which  their  admitted  obligation,  or  their 
alleged  charity,  terminates. 

It  seems  not  irrelevant,  therefore,  in  this  connection,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  strengthening  the  foundation  on  which  our  Free 
School  system  reposes,  to  inquii'e  into  the  nature  of  a  man's 
right  to  the  property  he  possesses ;  and  to  satisfy  ourselves  re- 
specting the  question,  whether  any  man  h£is  such  an  indefeasi- 
ble title  to  his  estates,  or  such  an  absolute  ownership  of  them, 

*  By  an  act  of  llie  New  York  Legislature,  passed  at  its  last  session,  tlic  question,  whether 
Free  Schools  shall  be  established  throughout  the  state,  is  to  be  submitted  to  the  decision  of 
the  people,  to  be  determined  by  ballot,  at  their  primary  meetings,  during  the  current  year. 


17 

as  renders  it  unjust  in  the  government  to  assess  upon  him  his 
share  of  the  expenses  of  educating  the  children  of  the  commu- 
nity, up  to  such  a  point  as  the  nature  of  the  institutions  under 
which  he  lives,  and  the  well-being  of  society,  require. 

I  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  great,  immortal,  immutable 
principle  of  Natural  LaAv,  or  Natural  Ethics, — a  principle  ante- 
cedent to  all  human  institutions,  and  incapable  of  being  abro- 
gated by  any  ordinances  of  man, — a  principle  of  divine  origin, 
clearly  legible  in  the  ways  of  Providence  as  those  ways  are 
manifested  in  the  order  of  nature  and  in  the  history  of  the 
race, — which  proves  the  absolute  right  to  an  education,  of  every 
human  being  that  comes  into  the  world  ;  and  which,  of  course, 
proves  the  correlative  duty  of  every  government  to  see  that  the 
means  of  that  education  are  provided  for  all. 

In  regard  to  the  application  of  this  principle  of  natural  law, — 
that  is,  in  regard  to  the  extent  of  the  education  to  be  provided 
for  all,  at  the  public  expense, — some  differences  of  opinion  may 
fairly  exist,  under  different  political  organizations ;  but  under 
our  republican  government,  it  seems  clear  that  the  minimum 
of  this  education  can  never  be  less  than  such  as  is  sufficient  to 
qualify  each  citizen  for  the  civil  and  social  duties  he  will  be 
called  to  discharge ; — such  an  education  as  teaches  the  individ- 
ual the  great  laws  of  bodily  health ;  as  qualifies  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  parental  duties  ;  as  is  indispensable  for  the  civil  func- 
tions of  a  witness  or  a  juror ;  as  is  necessary  for  the  voter  in 
municipal  and  in  national  affairs ;  and  finally,  as  is  requisite  for 
the  faithful  and  conscientious  discharge  of  all  those  duties 
which  devolve  upon  the  inheritor  of  a  portion  of  the  sovereignty 
of  this  great  republic. 

The  will  of  God,  as  conspicuously  manifested  in  the  order 
of  nature,  and  in  the  relations  which  he  has  established  among 
men,  places  the  right  of  every  child  that  is  born  into  the  world, 
to  such  a  degree  of  education  as  will  enable  him,  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  will  predispose  him,  to  perform  all  domestic,  social, 
civil,  and  moral  duties,  upon  the  same  clear  ground  of  natural 
law  and  equity,  as  it  places  a  child's  right,  upon  his  first  com- 
ing into  the  world,  to  distend  his  lungs  with  a  portion  of  the 
common  air,  or  to  open  his  eyes  to  the  common  light,  or  to 
3 


18 

receive  that  shelter,  protection,  and  nourishment,  which  are 
necessary  to  the  continuance  of  his  bodily  existence.  And  so 
far  is  it  from  being  a  wrong  or  a  hardship  to  demand  of  the 
possessors  of  property  their  respective  shares  for  the  prosecution 
of  this  divinely-ordained  work,  that  they  themselves  are  guilty 
of  the  most  far-reaching  injustice,  when  they  seek  to  resist  or 
to  evade  the  contribution.  The  complainers  are  the  wrong- 
doers.    The  cry,  "  Stop  thief,"  comes  from  the  thief  himself. 

To  any  one  who  looks  beyond  the  mere  surface  of  things,  it 
is  obvious  that  the  primary  and  natural  elements  or  ingredients 
of  all  property  consist  in  the  riches  of  the  soil,  in  the  treasures 
of  the  sea,  in  the  light  and  warmth  of  the  sun,  in  the  fertiliz- 
ing clouds,  and  streams,  and  dews,  in  the  winds,  and  in  the 
chemical  and  vegetative  agencies  of  nature.  In  the  majority  of 
cases,  all  that  we  call  property,  all  that  makes  up  the  valuation 
or  inventory  of  a  nation's  capital,  was  prepared  at  the  creation, 
and  was  laid  up  of  old  in  the  capacious  storehouses  of  nature. 
For  every  unit  that  a  man  earns  by  his  own  toil  or  skill,  he 
receives  hundreds  and  thousands,  without  cost  and  without 
recompense,  from  the  All-bountiful  Giver.  A  proud  mortal, 
standing  in  the  midst  of  his  luxuriant  wheat-fields  or  cotton- 
plantations,  may  arrogantly  call  them  his  own ;  yet  what  bar- 
ren wastes  would  they  be,  did  not  Heaven  send  down  upon 
them  its  dews  and  its  rains,  its  warmth  and  its  light ;  and  sus- 
tain, for  their  growth  and  ripening,  the  grateful  vicissitude  of 
the  seasons !  It  is  said  that  from  eighty  to  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  very  substance  of  some  of  the  great  staples  of  agriculture 
are  not  taken  from  the  earth,  but  are  absorbed  from  the  air  ;  so 
that  these  productions  may  more  properly  be  called  fruits  of  the 
atmosphere  than  of  the  soil.  Who  prepares  this  elemental 
wealth  ?  Who  scatters  it,  lilcc  a  sower,  through  all  the  regions 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  sends  the  richly-freighted  winds,  as  His 
messengers,  to  bear  to  each  leaf  in  the  forest,  and  to  each  blade 
in  the  cultivated  field,  the  nourishment  which  their  infinitely- 
varied  needs  demand  ?  Aided  by  machinery,  a  single  manu- 
facturer performs  the  labor  of  hundreds  of  men.  Yet  what 
could  he  accomplish  Avithout  the  Aveight  of  the  waters  which 
God  causes  ceaselessly  to  flow  ?  or  without  those  gigantic  forces 


19 

which  He  has  given  to  steam  ?  And  how  would  the  commerce 
of  the  world  be  carried  on,  were  it  not  for  those  great  laws  of 
nature, — of  electricity,  of  condensation,  and  of  rarefaction, — 
that  give  birth  to  the  winds,  which,  in  conformity  to  the  will 
of  Heaven,  and  not  in  obedience  to  any  power  of  man,  forever 
traverse  the  earth,  and  offer  themselves  as  an  unchartered  me- 
dium for  interchanging  the  products  of  all  the  zones  ?  These 
few  references  show  how  vast  a  proportion  of  all  the  wealth 
which  men  presumptuously  call  their  own,  because  they  claim 
to  have  earned  it,  is  poured  into  their  lap,  unasked  and  un- 
thanked  for,  by  the  Being  so  infinitely  gracious  in  his  ph^^sical 
as  well  as  in  his  moral  bestowments. 

But  for  whose  subsistence  and  benefit  were  these  exhaustless 
treasuries  of  wealth  created  ?  Surely  not  for  any  one  man, 
nor  for  any  one  generation ;  but  for  the  subsistence  and  benefit 
of  the  whole  race,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  time. 
They  were  not  created  for  Adam  alone,  nor  for  Noah  alone, 
nor  for  the  first  discoverers  or  colonists  who  may  have  found 
or  have  peopled  any  part  of  the  earth's  ample  domain.  No  ! 
They  were  created  for  the  race,  collectively,  but  to  be  possessed 
and  enjoyed  in  succession,  as  the  generations,  one  after  another, 
should  come  into  existence ; — equal  rights,  with  a  successive 
enjoyment  of  them !  If  we  consider  the  earth  and  the  fulness 
thereof  as  one  great  habitation  or  domain,  then  each  generation, 
subject  to  certain  modifications  for  the  encouragement  of  indus- 
try and  frugality, — which  modifications  it  is  not  necessary  here 
to  specify, — has  only  a  life-lease  in  them.  There  are  certain 
reasonable  regulations,  indeed,  in  regard  to  the  out-going  and 
the  in-coming  tenants, — regulations  which  allow  to  the  out- 
going generations  a  brief  control  over  their  property  after  they 
are  called  upon  to  leave  it,  and  which  also  allow  the  in-coming 
generations  to  anticipate  a  little  their  full  right  of  possession. 
But,  subject  to  these  regulations,  nature  ordains  a  perpetual 
entail  and  transfer,  from  one  generation  to  another,  of  all  prop- 
erty in  the  great,  substantive,  enduring  elements  of  wealth ; — 
in  the  soil ;  in  metals  and  minerals  ;  in  precious  stones,  and  in 
more  precious  coal,  and  iron,  and  granite ;  in  the  waters,  and 
winds,  and  sun  : — and  no  one  man,  nor  any  one  generation  of 


20 

meiij  has  an^'"  such  title  to,  or  ownership  in,  these  ingredients 
and  siibstantials  of  all  wealth,  that  his  right  is  invaded  when  a 
portion  of  them  is  taken  for  the  benefit  of  posterity. 

This  great  principle  of  natural  law  may  be  illustrated  by  a 
reference  to  some  of  the  unstable  elements,  in  regard  to  which 
each  individual's  right  of  property  is  strongly  qualified  in  rela- 
tion to  his  contemporaries,  e\"en  while  he  has  the  acknowledged 
right  of  possession.  Take  the  streams  of  water,  or  the  wind, 
for  an  example.  A  stream,  as  it  descends  from  its  sources  to  its 
mouth,  is  successively  the  property  of  all  those  through  whose 
land  it  passes.  My  neighbor,  who  lives  above  me,  owned  it 
yesterday,  while  it  was  passing  through  his  lands ;  I  own  it  to- 
day, while  it  is  descending  through  mine  ;  and  the  contiguous 
proprietor  below  will  own  it  to-morrow,  while  it  is  flowing 
through  his,  as  it  passes  onward  to  the  next.  But  the  rights 
of  these  successive  owners  are  not  absolute  and  unqualified. 
They  are  limited  by  the  rights  of  those  who  are  entitled  to  the 
subsequent  possession  and  use.  While  a  stream  is  passing 
through  my  lands,  I  may  not  corrupt  it,  so  that  it  shall  be 
offensive  or  valueless  to  the  adjoining  proprietor  below.  I  may 
not  stop  it  in  its  downward  course,  nor  divert  it  into  any  other 
direction,  so  that  it  shall  leave  his  channel  dry.  I  may  law- 
fully use  it  for  various  purposes, — for  agriculture,  as  in  irrigat- 
ing lands  or  watering  cattle ;  for  manufactures,  as  in  turning 
Avheels,  &c. ; — but  in  all  my  uses  of  it,  I  must  pay  regard  to 
the  rights  of  my  neighbors  lower  down.  So  no  two  proprietors, 
nor  any  half-dozen  proprietors,  by  conspiring  together,  can  de- 
prive an  owner,  who  lives  below  them  all,  of  the  ultimate 
right  which  he  has  to  the  use  of  the  stream  in  its  descending 
course.  We  see  here,  therefore,  that  a  man  has  certain  quali- 
fied rights, — rights  of  which  he  cannot  lawfully  be  divested 
without  his  own  consent, — in  a  stream  of  water,  before  it 
reaches  the  limits  of  his  own  estate ; — at  which  latter  point, 
he  may,  somewhat  more  emphatically,  call  it  his  own.  And 
in  this  sense,  a  man  who  lives  at  the  outlet  of  a  river,  on  the 
margin  of  the  ocean,  has  certain  incipient  rights  in  those  foun- 
tain-sources, that  well  up  from  the  earth  at  the  distance  of 
thousands  of  miles. 


21 

So  it  is  with  the  ever-moving  winds.  No  man  has  n  perma- 
nent interest  in  the  breezes  that  blow  by  him,  and  bring  heal- 
ing and  refreshment  on  their  wings.  Each  man  has  a  temporary 
interest  in  them.  From  whatever  quarter  of  the  compass  they 
may  come,  I  have  a  right  to  use  them  as  they  are  passing  by 
me ;  yet  that  use  must  always  be  regulated  by  the  rights  of 
those  other  participants  and  co-owners  whom  they  are  moving 
forward  to  bless.  It  is  not  lawful,  therefore,  for  me  to  corrupt 
them, — to  load  them  with  noxious  gases  or  vapors,  by  which 
they  will  prove  valueless  or  detrimental  to  him,  whoever  he 
may  be,  towards  whom  they  are  moving. 

In  one  respect,  indeed,  the  winds  illustrate  our  relative  rights 
and  duties,  even  better  than  the  streams.  In  the  latter  case, 
the  rights  are  not  only  successive,  but  always  in  the  same  order 
of  priority, — those  of  the  owner  above  necessarily  preceding 
those  of  the  owner  below ;  and  this  order  is  unchangeable,  ex- 
cept by  changing  the  ownership  of  the  land  itself  to  which 
the  rights  are  appurtenant.  In  the  case  of  the  winds,  however, 
which  blow  from  every  quarter  of  the  heavens,  I  may  have  the 
prior  right  to-day,  but,  with  a  change  in  their  direction,  my 
neighbor  may  have  it  to-morrow.  If,  therefore,  to-day,  when 
the  wind  is  going  from  me  to  him,  I  should  usurp  the  right  to 
use  it  to  his  detriment,  to-morrow,  when  it  is  coming  from  him 
to  me,  he  may  inflict  retributive  usurpation  upon  me. 

The  light  of  the  sun,  too,  is  subject  to  the  same  benign  and 
equitable  regulations.  As  the  waves  of  this  ethereal  element 
pass  by  me,  I  have  a  right  to  bask  in  their  genial  warmth,  or  to 
employ  their  quickening  powers.  But  I  have  no  right,  even 
on  my  own  land,  to  build  up  a  wall,  mountain-high,  that  shall 
eclipse  the  sun  to  my  neighbor's  eyes. 

Now,  all  these  great  principles  of  natural  law,  which  define 
and  limit  the  rights  of  neighbors  and  contemporaries,  are  incor- 
porated into,  and  constitute  a  part  of,  the  civil  law  of  every 
civilized  people  ;  and  they  are  obvious  and  simple  illustrations 
of  the  great  proprietary  laws  by  which  individuals  and  genera- 
tions hold  their  rights  in  the  solid  substance  of  the  globe,  in 
the  elements  that  move  over  its  sm-face,  and  in  the  chemical 
and  vital  powers  with  which  it  is  so  marvellously  endued.    As 


22 

successive  owners  on  a  river's  bank  have  equal  rights  to  the 
waters  that  flow  through  their  respective  doinauis,  subject  only 
to  the  modification  that  the  proprietors  nearer  the  stream's 
source  must  have  precedence  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights 
over  those  lower  down,  so  the  rights  of  all  the  generations  of 
mankind  to  the  earth  itself,  to  the  streams  that  fertilize  it,  to 
the  winds  that  pmify  it,  to  the  vital  principles  that  animate  it, 
and  to  the  reviving  light,  are  common  rights,  though  subject  to 
similar  modifications  in  regard  to  the  preceding  and  succeeding 
generations  of  men.  They  did  not  belong  to  our  ancestors  in 
perpetuity ;  they  do  not  belong  to  us  in  perpetuity ;  and  the 
right  of  the  next  generation  in  them  will  be  limited  and  de- 
feasible like  ours.  As  we  hold  these  rights  subject  to  the 
claims  of  the  next  generation,  so  will  they  hold  them  subject 
to  the  claims  of  their  immediate  successors,  and  so  on  to  the 
end  of  time.  And  the  savage  tribes  that  roam  about  the  head- 
springs of  the  Mississippi,  have  as  good  a  right  to  ordain  what 
use  shall  be  made  of  its  copious  waters,  when,  in  their  grand 
descent  across  a  continent,  they  shall  reach  the  shores  of  arts 
and  civilization,  as  any  of  our  predecessors  had,  or  as  we  our- 
selves have,  to  say  what  shall  be  done,  in  perpetuity,  with  the 
soil,  the  waters,  the  winds,  the  light,  and  the  invisible  agen- 
cies of  nature,  which  must  be  allowed,  on  all  hands,  to  consti- 
tute the  primary  and  indispensable  elements  of  wealtli. 

Is  not  the  inference  irresistible,  then,  that  no  man,  by  what- 
ever means  he  may  have  come  into  possession  of  his  property, 
has  any  natural  right,  any  more  than  he  has  a  moral  one,  to 
hold  it,  or  to  dispose  of  it,  irrespective  of  the  needs  and  claims 
of  those,  who,  in  the  august  procession  of  the  generations,  are 
to  be  his  successors  on  the  stage  of  existence  ?  Holding  his 
rights  subject  to  their  rights,  he  is  bound  not  to  impair  the 
value  of  their  inheritance,  either  by  commission  or  by  omission. 

Generation  after  generation  proceeds  from  the  creative  ener- 
gy of  God.  Each  one  stops  for  a  brief  period  upon  the  earth, 
resting,  as  it  were,  only  for  a  night, — like  migratory  birds 
upon  their  passage, — and  then  leaving  it  forever,  to  others 
whose  existence  is  as  transitory  ns  its  own  ;  and  the  migratory 
flocks  of  water-fowl,  which  sweep  across  our  latitudes  in  their 


23 

passage  to  another  clime,  have  as  good  a  right  to  make  a  per- 
petual appropriation,  to  their  own  use,  of  the  lands  over  which 
they  fly,  as  any  one  generation  has  to  arrogate  perpetual  do- 
minion and  sovereignty,  for  its  own  purposes,  over  that  portion 
of  the  earth  which  it  is  its  fortune  to  occupy  during  the  brief 
period  of  its  temporal  existence. 

Another  consideration,  hearing  upon  this  arrogant  doctrine 
of  absolute  ownership  or  sovereignty,  has  hardly  less  force 
than  the  one  just  expounded.  We  have  seen  how  insignificant 
a  portion  of  any  man's  possessions  he  can  claim,  in  any  proper 
and  just  sense,  to  have  earned ;  and  that,  in  regard  to  all  the 
residue,  he  is  only  taking  his  turn  in  the  use  of  a  bounty  be- 
stowed, in  common,  by  the  Giver  of  all,  upon  his  ancestors, 
upon  himself,  and  upon  his  posterity, — a  line  of  indefinite 
length,  in  which  he  is  but  a  point.  But  this  is  not  the  only 
deduction  to  be  made  from  his  assumed  rights.  The  p7'ese7it 
wealth  of  the  world  has  an  additional  element  in  it.  Much  of 
all  that  is  capable  of  being  earned  by  man,  has  been  earned  by 
our  predecessors,  and  has  come  down  to  us  in  a  solid  and  en- 
during form.  We  have  not  erected  all  the  houses  in  which 
we  live ;  nor  constructed  all  the  roads  on  which  we  travel ; 
nor  built  all  the  ships  in  which  we  carry  on  our  commerce 
with  the  world.  We  have  not  reclaimed  from  the  wilderness 
all  the  fields  whose  harvests  we  now  reap ;  and  if  we  had  no 
precious  metals,  or  stones,  or  pearls,  but  such  as  we  ourselves 
had  dug  from  the  mines,  or  brought  up  from  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean,  our  coffers  and  our  caskets  would  be  empty  indeed. 
But  even  if  this  were  not  so,  whence  came  all  the  arts  and  sci- 
ences, the  discoveries  and  the  inventions,  without  which,  and 
without  a  common  right  to  which,  the  valuation  of  the  prop- 
erty of  a  whole  nation  would  scarcely  equal  the  inventory  of  a 
single  man, — without  which,  indeed,  we  should  now  be  in  a 
state  of  barbarism  ?  Whence  came  a  knowledge  of  agriculture, 
without  which  we  should  have  so  little  to  reap ;  or  a  knowl- 
edge of  astronomy,  without  which  we  could  not  traverse  the 
oceans ;  or  a  knowledge  of  chemistry  and  mechanical  philoso- 
phy, without  which  the  arts  and  trades  could  not  exist  ?  Most 
of  all  this  was  found  out  by  those  who  have  gone  before  us. 


24 

and  some  of  it  has  come  down  to  us  from  a  remote  antiquity. 
Surely  all  these  boons  and  blessings  belong  as  much  to  poster- 
ity as  to  ourselves.  They  have  not  descended  to  us  to  be  ar- 
rested and  consumed  here,  or  to  be  sequestrated  from  the  ages 
to  come.  Cato,  and  Archimedes,  and  Kepler,  and  Newton, 
and  Franklin,  and  Ai'kwright,  and  Fulton,  and  all  the  bright 
host  of  benefactors  to  science  and  art,  did  not  make  or  be- 
queath their  discoveries  or  inventions  to  benefit  any  one  gen- 
eration, but  to  increase  the  common  enjoyments  of  mankind 
to  the  end  of  time.  So  of  all-  the  great  lawgivers  and  moral- 
ists who  have  improved  the  civil  institutions  of  the  state,  who 
have  made  it  dangerous  to  be  wicked,  or, — far  better  than  this, 
— have  made  it  hateful  to  be  so.  Resources  developed,  and 
property  acquired,  after  all  these  ages  of  preparation,  after  all 
these  facilities  and  securities,  accrue  not  to  the  benefit  of  the 
possessor  only,  but  to  that  of  the  next  and  of  all  succeeding 
generations. 

Surely,  these  considerations  limit  still  more  extensively  that 
absolutism  of  ownership  which  is  so  often  claimed  by  the  pos- 
sessors of  wealth. 

But  sometimes,  the  rich  farmer,  the  opulent  manufacturer,  or 
the  capitalist,  when  sorely  pressed  with  his  natural  and  moral 
obligation  to  contribute  a  portion  of  his  means  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  young,  replies, — either  in  form  or  in  spirit, — "  My 
lands,  my  machinery,  my  gold,  and  my  silver,  are  mine ;  may 
I  not  do  what  I  will  with  my  own  ?"  There  is  one  supposa- 
ble  case,  and  only  one,  where  this  argument  would  have  plau- 
sibility. If  it  were  made  by  an  isolated,  solitary  being, — a 
being  having  no  relations  to  a  community  around  him,  having 
no  ancestors  to  whom  he  had  been  indebted  for  ninety-nine 
parts  in  every  hundred  of  all  he  possesses,  and  expecting  to 
leave  no  posterity  after  him, — it  might  not  be  easy  to  answer 
it.  If  there  were  but  one  family  in  this  western  hemisphere, 
and  only  one  in  the  eastern  hemisphere,  and  these  two  families 
bore  no  civil  and  social  relations  to  each  other,  and  were  to  be 
the  first  and  last  of  the  whole  race,  it  might  be  difficult,  except 
on  very  high  and  almost  transcendental  grounds,  for  either  one 
of  them  to  show  good  cause  why  the  other  should  contribute 


25 

to  help  educate  children  not  his  own.  And,  perhaps,  the  force 
of  the  appeal  for  such  an  object,  would  be  still  further  dimin- 
ished, if  the  nearest  neighbor  of  a  single  family  upon  our  planet 
were  as  far  from  the  earth  as  Uranus  or  Sirius.  In  self-defence, 
or  in  selfishness,  one  might  say  to  the  other,  "  What  are  your 
fortunes  to  me  ?  You  can  neither  benefit  nor  molest  me.  Let 
each  of  us  keep  to  his  own  side  of  the  planetary  spaces."  But 
is  this  the  relation  which  any  man  amongst  us  sustains  to  his 
fellows  ?  In  the  midst  of  a  populous  community  to  which  he 
is  bound  by  innumerable  ties,  having  had  his  own  fortune  and 
condition  almost  predetermined  and  foreordained  by  his  prede- 
cessors, and  being  about  to  exert  upon  his  successors  as  com- 
manding an  influence  as  has  been  exerted  upon  himself,  the 
objector  can  no  longer  shrink  into  his  individuality,  and  dis- 
claim connection  and  relationship  with  the  world  at  large.  He 
cannot  deny  that  there  are  thousands  around  him  on  whom  he 
acts,  and  who  are  continually  reacting  upon  him.  The  earth 
is  much  too  small,  or  the  race  is  far  too  numerous,  to  allow  us 
to  be  hermits ;  and,  therefore,  we  cannot  adopt  either  the  phi- 
losophy or  the  morals  of  hermits.  All  have  derived  benefits 
from  their  ancestors,  and  all  are  bound,  as  by  an  oath,  to  trans- 
mit those  benefits,  even  in  an  improved  condition,  to  posterity. 
We  may  as  well  attempt  to  escape  from  our  own  personal  iden- 
tity, as  to  shake  off  the  threefold  relation  which  we  bear  to 
others, — the  relation  of  an  associate  with  our  contemporaries ; 
of  a  beneficiary  of  our  ancestors ;  of  a  guardian  to  those  who, 
in  the  sublime  order  of  Providence,  are  to  succeed  us.  Out  of 
these  relations,  manifest  duties  are  evolved.  The  society  of 
which  we  necessarily  constitute  a  part,  must  be  preserved ;  and, 
in  order  to  preserve  it,  we  must  not  look  merely  to  what  one 
individual  or  one  family  needs,  but  to  what  the  whole  commu- 
nity needs ;  not  merely  to  what  one  generation  needs,  but  to 
the  wants  of  a  succession  of  generations.  To  draAV  conclusions 
without  considering  these  facts,  is  to  leave  out  the  most  impor- 
tant part  of  the  premises. 

A  powerfully  corroborating  fact  remains  untouched.  Though 
the  earth  and  the  beneficent  capabilities  with  which  it  is  en- 
dued belong  in  common  to  the  race,  yet  we  find  that  previous 
4 


26 

and  present  possessors  have  laid  their  hands  upon  the  whole  of 
it ; — have  left  no  part  of  it  unclaimed  and  unappropriated. 
They  have  circumnavigated  the  globe  ;  they  have  drawn  lines 
across  every  habitable  portion  of  it,  and  have  partitioned 
amongst  themselves,  not  only  its  whole  area,  or  superficial 
contents,  but  have  claimed  it  down  to  the  centre,  and  up  to 
the  concave, — a  great  inverted  pyramid  for  each  proprietor, — 
so  that  not  an  unclaimed  rood  is  left,  either  in  the  caverns  be- 
low or  in  the  aerial  spaces  above,  where  a  new  adventurer 
upon  existence  can  take  unresisted  possession.  They  have  en- 
tered into  a  solemn  compact  with  each  other,  for  the  mutual 
defence  of  their  respective  allotments.  They  have  created  leg- 
islators, and  judges,  and  executive  officers,  who  denounce  and 
inflict  penalties  even  to  the  taking  of  life ;  and  they  have  or- 
ganized armed  bands  to  repel  aggression  upon  their  claims. 
Indeed,  so  grasping  and  rapacious  have  mankind  been,  in  this 
particular,  that  they  have  taken  more  than  they  could  use, 
more  than  they  could  perambulate  and  survey,  more  than  they 
could  see  from  the  top  of  the  mast-head,  or  from  the  highest 
peak  of  the  mountain.  There  was  some  limit  to  their  physical 
power  of  taking  possession,  but  none  to  the  exorbitancy  of 
theii"  desires.  Like  robbers,  who  divide  their  spoils  before 
they  know  whether  they  shall  find  a  victim,  men  have 
claimed  a  continent  while  still  doubtful  of  its  existence,  and 
spread  out  their  title  from  ocean  to  ocean,  before  their  most 
adventurous  pioneers  had  ever  seen  a  shore  of  the  realms  they 
coveted.  Tbe  whole  planet,  then,  having  been  appropriated, 
— there  being  no  waste  or  open  lands,  from  which  the  new 
generations  may  be  supplied  as  they  come  into  existence, — 
have  not  those  generations  the  strongest  conceivable  claim 
upon  the  present  occupants  for  that  which  is  indispensable  to 
their  well-being  ?  They  have  more  than  a  preemptive,  they 
have  a  possessory  right  to  some  portion  of  the  issues  and  profits 
of  that  general  domain,  all  of  which  has  been  thus  taken  up 
and  appropriated.  A  denial  of  this  right  by  the  present  pos- 
sessors, is  a  breach  of  trust, — a  fraudulent  misuse  of  power 
given,  and  of  confidence  implied.  On  mere  principles  of  polit- 
ical economy,  it  is  folly  ;  on  the  broader  principles  of  duty  and 
morality,  it  is  embezzlement. 


27 

It  is  not  at  all  in  contravention  of  this  view  of  the  subject, 
that  the  adult  portion  of  society  does  take,  and  must  take, 
upon  itself,  the  control  and  management  of  all  existing  prop- 
erty, until  the  rising  generation  has  arrived  at  the  age  of  ma- 
jority. Nay,  one  of  the  objects  of  their  so  doing,  is  to  preserve 
the  rights  of  the  generation  which  is  still  in  its  minority.  So- 
ciety, to  this  extent,  is  only  a  trustee  managing  an  estate  for 
the  benefit  of  a  part-owner,  or  of  one  who  has  a  reversionary 
interest  in  it.  This  civil  regulation,  therefore,  made  necessary 
even  for  the  benefit  of  both  present  and  future  possessors,  is 
only  in  furtherance  of  the  great  law  under  consideration. 

Coincident,  too,  with  this  great  law,  but  in  no  manner  super- 
seding or  invalidating  it,  is  that  wonderful  provision  which  the 
Creator  has  made  for  the  care  of  offspring,  in  the  affection  of 
their  parents.  Heaven  did  not  rely  merely  upon  our  percep- 
tions of  duty  towards  our  children,  and  our  fidelity  in  its  per- 
formance. A  powerful,  all-mastering  instinct  of  love  was 
therefore  implanted  in  the  parental,  and  especially  in  the  ma- 
ternal breast,  to  anticipate  the  idea  of  duty,  and  to  make  duty 
delightful.  Yet  the  great  doctrine,  founded  upon  the  will  of 
God,  as  made  known  to  us  in  the  natural  order  and  relation  of 
things,  would  still  remain  the  same,  though  all  this  beautiful 
portion  of  our  moral  being,  whence  parental  affection  springs, 
were  a  void  and  a  nonentity.  Emphatically  would  the  obli- 
gations of  society  remain  the  same  for  all  those  children  who 
have  been  bereaved  of  parents ;  or  who,  worse  than  bereave- 
ment, have  only  monster  parents  of  intemperance,  or  cupidity, 
or  of  any  other  of  those  forms  of  vice  that  seem  to  suspend  or 
to  obliterate  the  law  of  love  in  the  parental  breast.  For  these, 
society  is  doubly  bound  to  be  a  parent,  and  to  exercise  all  that 
rational  care  and  providence  which  a  wise  father  would  exer- 
cise for  his  own  children. 

If  the  previous  argument  began  with  sound  premises  and 
has  been  logically  conducted,  then  it  has  established  this  posi- 
tion,— that  a  vast  portion  of  the  present  wealth  of  the  world 
either  consists  in,  or  has  been  immediately  derived  from,  those 
great  natural  substances  and  powers  of  the  earth,  which  were 
bestowed  by  the  Creator  alike  on  all  mankind ;  or  from  the 


28 

discoveries,  inventions,  labors,  and  improvements  of  our  ances- 
tors, whicli  were  alike  designed  for  the  common  benefit  of  all 
their  descendants.  The  question  now  arises.  At  what  time  is 
this  wealth  to  be  transferred  from  a  preceding  to  a  succeeding 
generation  ?  At  what  point  are  the  latter  to  take  possession  of 
it,  or  to  derive  benefit  from  it,  or  at  what  time  are  the  former 
to  surrender  it  in  their  behalf?  Is  each  existing  generation, 
and  each  individual  of  an  existing  generation,  to  hold  fast  to 
his  possessions  until  death  relaxes  his  grasp?  or  is  something 
of  the  right  to  be  acknowledged,  and  something  of  the  benefit 
to  be  yielded,  beforehand  ?  It  seems  too  obvious  for  argument, 
that  the  latter  is  the  only  alternative.  If  the  in-coming  gener- 
ation have  no  rights  until  the  out-going  generation  have  actu- 
ally retired,  then  is  every  individual  that  enters  the  world  liable 
to  perish  on  the  day  he  is  born.  According  to  the  very  consti- 
tution of  things,  each  individual  must  obtain  sustenance  and 
succor,  as  soon  as  his  eyes  open  in  quest  of  light,  or  his  lungs 
gasp  for  the  first  breath  of  air.  His  wants  cannot  be  delayed 
until  he  himself  can  supply  them.  If  the  demands  of  his  na- 
ture are  ever  to  be  answered,  they  must  be  answered  years  be- 
fore he  can  make  any  personal  provision  for  them,  either  by 
the  performance  of  any  labor,  or  by  any  exploits  of  skill.  The 
infant  must  be  fed  before  he  can  earn  his  bread ;  he  must  be 
clothed  before  he  can  prepare  gai-ments ;  he  must  be  protected 
from  the  elements  before  he  can  erect  a  dwelling ;  and  it  is 
just  as  clear  that  he  must  be  instructed  before  he  can  engage 
or  reward  a  tutor.  A  course  contrary  to  this,  would  be  the 
destruction  of  the  young,  that  we  might  rob  them  of  their 
rightful  inheritance.  Carried  to  its  extreme,  it  would  be  the 
act  of  Herod,  seeking,  in  a  general  massacre,  the  life  of  one 
who  was  supposed  to  endanger  his  power.  Here,  then,  the 
claims  of  the  succeeding  generation,  not  only  upon  the  affec- 
tion and  the  care,  but  upon  the  property^  of  the  preceding  one, 
attach.  God  having  given  to  the  second  generation  as  full  and 
com.plete  a  right  to  the  incomes  and  profits  of  the  world,  as  he 
has  given  to  the  first,  and  to  the  third  generation  as  full  and 
complete  a  right  as  he  has  given  to  the  second,  and  so  on 
while  the  world  stands, — it  necessarily  follows  that  children 


29 

must  come  into  a  partial  and  qualified  possession  of  these 
rights,  by  the  paramount  law  of  nature,  as  soon  as  they  are 
born.  No  human  enactment  can  abolish  or  countervail  this 
paramount  and  supreme  law ;  and  all  those  positive  and  often 
arbitrary  enactments  of  the  civil  code,  by  which,  for  the  en- 
couragement of  industry  and  frugality,  the  possessor  of  prop- 
erty is  permitted  to  control  it  for  a  limited  period  after  his 
decease,  must  be  construed  and  executed  in  subservience  to 
this  sovereign  and  irrepealable  ordinance  of  nature. 

Nor  is  this  transfer  always,  or  even  generally,  to  be  made  in 
kind ;  but  according  to  the  needs  of  the  recipient.  The  recog- 
nition of  this  principle  is  universal.  A  guardian  or  trustee  may 
possess  lands,  while  the  ward,  or  owner  under  the  trust,  may 
need  money ;  or  the  former  may  have  money,  while  the  latter 
need  raiment  or  shelter.  The  form  of  the  estate  must  be 
changed,  if  need  be,  and  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  receiver. 

The  claim  of  a  child,  then,  to  a  portion  of  preexistent  prop- 
erty begins  with  the  first  breath  he  draws.  The  new-born  in- 
fant must  have  sustenance,  and  shelter,  and  care.  If  the  natural 
parents  are  removed,  or  parental  ability  fails, — in  a  word,  if 
parents  either  cannot  or  will  not  supply  the  infant's  wants, — 
then  society  at  large, — the  government, — having  assumed  to 
itself  the  ultimate  control  of  all  property, — is  bound  to  step  in 
and  fill  the  parent's  place.  To  deny  this  to  any  child,  would 
be  equivalent  to  a  sentence  of  death, — a  capital  execution  of 
the  innocent, — at  which  every  soul  shudders.  It  would  be  a 
more  cruel  form  of  infanticide  than  any  which  is  practised  in 
China  or  in  Africa. 

But  to  preserve  the  animal  life  of  a  child  only,  and  there  to 
stop,  would  be, — not  the  bestowment  of  a  blessing,  or  the  per- 
formance of  a  duty, — but  the  infliction  of  a  fearful  curse.  A 
child  has  interests  far  higher  than  those  of  mere  physical  exist- 
ence. Better  that  the  wants  of  the  natural  life  should  be  dis- 
regarded than  that  the  higher  interests  of  the  character  should 
be  neglected.  If  a  child  has  any  claim  to  bread  to  keep  him 
from  perishing,  he  has  a  far  higher  claim  to  knowledge  to  pre- 
serve him  from  error  and  its  fearful  retinue  of  calamities.  If  a 
child  has  any  claim  to.  shelter  to  protect  him  from  the  destroy- 


30 

ing  elements,  he  has  a  far  higher  claim  to  be  rescued  from  the 
infamy  and  perdition  of  vice  and  crime. 

All  moralists  agree,  nay,  all  moralists  maintain,  that  a  man 
is  as  responsible  for  his  omissions  as  for  his  commissions, — that 
he  is  as  guilty  of  the  wrong  which  he  could  have  prevented, 
but  did  not,  as  for  that  which  his  own  hand  has  perpetrated. 
They,  then,  who  knowingly  withhold  sustenance  from  a  new- 
born child,  and  he  dies,  are  guilty  of  infanticide.  And,  by  the 
same  reasoning,  they  who  refuse  to  enlighten  the  intellect  of 
the  rising  generation,  are  guilty  of  degrading  the  human  race. 
They  who  refuse  to  train  up  children  in  the  way  they  should 
go,  are  training  up  incendiaries  and  madmen  to  destroy  prop- 
erty and  life,  and  to  invade  and  pollute  the  sanctuaries  of  soci- 
ety. In  a  word,  if  the  mind  is  as  real  and  substantive  a  part 
of  human  existence  as  the  body,  then  mental  attributes,  during 
the  periods  of  infancy  and  childhood,  demand  provision  at  least 
as  imperatively  as  bodily  appetites.  The  time  when  these  re- 
spective obligations  attach,  corresponds  with  the  periods  when 
the  nurture,  whether  physical  or  mental,  is  needed.  As  the 
right  of  sustenance  is  of  equal  date  with  birth,  so  the  right  to 
intellectual  and  moral  training  begins  at  least  as  early  as  when 
children  are  ordinarily  sent  to  school.  At  that  time,  then,  by 
the  irrepealable  law  of  nature,  every  child  succeeds  to  so  much 
more  of  the  property  of  the  community  as  is  necessary  for  his 
education.  He  is  to  receive  this,  not  in  the  form  of  lands,  or 
of  gold  and  silver,  but  in  the  form  of  knowledge  and  a  training 
to  good  habits.  This  is  one  of  the  steps  in  the  transfer  of 
property  from  a  present  to  a  succeeding  generation.  Human 
sagacity  may  be  at  fault  in  fixing  the  amount  of  property  to 
be  transferred,  or  the  time  when  the  transfer  should  be  made, 
to  a  dollar  or  to  an  hour ;  but  certainly,  in  a  republican  gov- 
ernment, the  obligation  of  the  predecessors,  and  the  right  of 
the  successors,  extend  to  and  embrace  the  means  of  such  an 
amount  of  education  as  will  prepare  each  individual  to  perform 
all  the  duties  which  devolve  upon  him  as  a  man  and  a  citizen. 
It  may  go  further  than  this  point ;  certainly,  it  cannot  fall 
short  of  it. 

Under  our  political  organization,   the  places  and  the  pro- 


31 

cesses  where  this  transfer  is  to  be  provided  for,  and  its  amount 
determined,  are  the  district  school  meeting,  the  town  meeting, 
legislative  halls,  and  conventions  for  establishing  or  revising 
the  fundamental  laws  of  the  state.  If  it  be  not  done  there,  so- 
ciety is  false  to  its  high  trusts ;  and  any  community,  whether 
national  or  state,  that  ventures  to  organize  a  government,  or  to 
administer  a  government  already  organized,  without  making 
provision  for  the  free  education  of  all  its  children,  dares  the 
certain  vengeance  of  Heaven ;  and,  in  the  squalid  forms  of 
poverty  and  destitution,  in  the  scourges  of  violence  and  mis- 
rule, in  the  heart-destroying  corruptions  of  licentiousness  and 
debauchery,  and  in  political  profligacy  and  legalized  perfidy, — 
in  all  the  blended  and  mutually  aggravated  crimes  of  civiliza- 
tion and  of  barbarism,  Avill  be  sure  to  feel  the  terrible  retribu- 
tions of  its  delinquency. 

I  bring  my  argument  on  this  point,  then,  to  a  close  ;  and  I 
present  a  test  of  its  validity,  which,  as  it  seems  to  me,  defies 
denial  or  evasion. 

In  obedience  to  the  laws  of  God  and  to  the  laws  of  all  civ- 
ilized communities,  society  is  bound  to  protect  the  natural  life 
of  children ;  and  this  natural  life  cannot  be  protected  without 
the  appropriation  and  use  of  a  portion  of  the  property  which 
society  possesses.  We  prohibit  infanticide  under  penalty  of 
death.  We  practice  a  refinement  in  this  particular.  The  life 
of  an  infant  is  inviolable  even  before  he  is  born ;  and  he  who 
feloniously  takes  it,  even  before  birth,  is  as  subject  to  the  ex- 
treme penalty  of  the  law,  as  though  he  had  struck  down  man- 
hood in  its  vigor,  or  taken  away  a  mother  by  violence  from 
the  sanctuary  of  home,  where  she  blesses  her  off"spring.  But 
why  preserve  the  natural  life  of  a  child,  why  preserve  unborn 
embryos  of  life,  if  we  do  not  intend  to  watch  over  and  to  pro- 
tect them,  and  to  expand  their  subsequent  existence  into  use- 
fulness and  happiness?  ,  As  individuals,  or  as  an  organized 
community,  we  have  no  natural  right ;  we  can  derive  no  au- 
thority or  countenance  from  reason ;  we  can  cite  no  attribute 
or  purpose  of  the  divine  nature,  for  giving  birth  to  any  human 
being,  and  then  inflicting  upon  that  being  the  curse  of  igno- 
rance, of  poverty,  and  of  vice,  with  all  their  attendant  calami- 


32 

ties.  We  are  brought,  then,  to  this  startling  but  inevitable 
alternative.  The  natural  life  of  an  infant  should  be  extin- 
guished as  soon  as  it  is  born,  or  the  means  should  be  provided 
to  save  that  life  from  being  a  curse  to  its  possessor ;  and,  there- 
fore, every  state  is  morally  bound  to  enact  a  code  of  laws  le- 
galizing and  enforcing  infanticide,  or  a  code  of  laws  establish- 
ing Free  Schools ! 

The  three  following  propositions,  then,  describe  the  broad 
and  ever-during  foundation  on  which  the  Common  School  sys- 
tem of  Massachusetts  reposes  : — 

The  successive  generations  of  men,  taken  collectively,  con- 
stitute one  great  commonwealth. 

The  property  of  this  commonwealth  is  pledged  for  the  edu- 
cation of  all  its  youth,  up  to  such  a  point  as  will  save  them 
from  poverty  and  vice,  and  prepare  them  for  the  adequate  per- 
formance of  their  social  and  civil  duties. 

The  successive  holders  of  this  property  are  trustees,  bound 
to  the  faithful  execution  of  their  trust,  by  the  most  sacred  obli- 
gations ;  and  embezzlement  and  pillage  from  children  and  de- 
scendants have  not  less  of  criminality,  and  have  more  of  mean- 
ness, than  the  same  oifences  when  perpetrated  against  contem- 
poraries. 

Recognizing  these  eternal  principles  of  natural  ethics,  the 
Constitution  of  Massachusetts, — the  fundamental  law  of  the 
state, — after  declaring,  (among  other  things,)  in  the  preamble 
to  the  first  section  of  the  fifth  chapter,  that  "  the  encourage- 
ment of  arts  and  sciences,  and  all  good  literature,  tends  to  the 
honor  of  GOD,  the  advantage  of  the  Christian  religion,  and 
the  great  benefit  of  this  and  the  other  United  States  of  Amer- 
ica," proceeds,  in  the  second  section  of  the  same  chapter,  to  set 
forth  the  duties  of  all  future  legislators  and  magistrates,  in  the 
following  noble  and  impressive  language  : — 

''  Wisdom  and  knowledge,  as  well  as  virtue,  diffused  gener- 
ally among  the  body  of  the  people,  being  necessary  for  the 
preservation  of  their  rights  and  liberties ;  and  as  these  depend 
on  spreading  the  opportunities  and  advantages  of  education  in 
the  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  among  the  different  or- 
ders of  the  people,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  legislatures  and  mag- 


33 

istrates,  in  all  future  periods  of  this  Commonwealth,  to  cherish 
the  interests  of  literature  and  the  sciences,  and  all  semina- 
ries of  them ;  especially  the  University  of  Cambridge,  Public 
Schools,  and  Grammar  Schools  in  the  towns ;  to  encourage 
private  societies  and  public  institutions,  rewards  and  immuni- 
ties, for  the  promotion  of  agriculture,  arts,  sciences,  commerce, 
trades,  manufactures,  and  a  natural  history  of  the  country ;  to 
countenance  and  inculcate  the  principles  of  humanity  and  gen- 
eral benevolence,  public  and  private  charity,  industry  and  fru- 
gality, honesty  and  punctuality  in  their  dealings ;  sincerity, 
good  humor,  and  all  social  affections,  and  generous  sentiments 
among  the  people,"     See  also  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§>  7. 

I  now  proceed  to  give  an  account  of  existing  legal  enact- 
ments for  the  organization  and  administration  of  the  Massachu- 
setts School  System.  In  giving  this  account,  I  may  have  occa- 
sion to  point  out  some  imperfections ;  but,  on  the  whole,  it  is 
truly  surprising  that  our  ancestors,  without  experience  and 
without  precedent,  should  have  devised  a  system  so  perfect  in 
its  organic  principles,  so  well  suited  to  their  own  purposes,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  so  expansive  as  to  be  capable  of  easy  adap- 
tation to  an  advancing  state  of  society. 

For  more  convenient  reference,  specific  provisions  and  ex- 
planations will  be  numbered  as  distinct  sections. 

TERRITORIAL    ORGANIZATION    OF    MASSACHUSETTS,    FOR    SCHOOL 

PURPOSES. 

1.  Authorities  differ  in  regard  to  the  area  of  Massachusetts. 
The  extremes,  I  believe,  are  7250  square  miles,  and  8200.* 
This  area  is  divided,  territorially,  into  three  hundred  and  four- 
teen towns  or  cities.  Each  town  and  city  is  a  body  politic 
and  corporate,  required  by  law,  among  many  other  municipal 
duties,  to  provide  one  or  more  schools  for  the  free  admission 
and  free  education  of  all  its  children.  The  towns  and  cities 
vary  greatly  in  population  and  extent  of  territory.  Boston,  in 
1845,   had  a  population  of  114,366;  Hull,  according   to   the 

*  The  following  Table,  exhibiliiig'  tlie  areas  of  the  several  States  and  Territories  of  the 
United  States,  in  square  miles  and  acres,  was  prepared  in  the  Land  Office  at  Washington, 
and  published  in  1849  :— • 

5 


34 

last  United  States  census,  had  a  population  of  231  only.  Ac- 
cording to  Hayward,  the  superficial  extent  of  the  town  of 
Middleborough  is  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  and  three  fourths 
square  miles  ;  that  of  Newburyport,  one  square  mile  only.    But, 


FREE 

STATES 

Sft.  MILES 

Maine,  . 

35,000 

New  Hampshire,   . 

8,030 

Vennout, 

8,000 

Massachusetts, 

7.250 

Rhode  Island, 

1,200 

Connecticut,  . 

4,750 

New  York,     . 

4G,000 

New  Jersey,  . 

6,851 

Pennsylvania, 

47,000 

Ohio,      . 

39,964 

Indiana, 

33,809 

Illinois, 

55,405 

Michigan, 

56,243 

Iowa,     . 

50,914 

Wisconsin,     . 

53,924 

Total, 


ACRES. 

22,100,000 

5,139,200 

5,120,000 

4,640,000 

768,000 

3,040,000 

29,440,000 

4,384,640 

30,080,000 

25,576,960 

21,637,760 

35,459,200 

35,995,520 

32,584,960 

34,511,360 


454,340      290,777,600 


SLAVE  STATES. 

SQ.  MILES. 

ACRES. 

Delaware, 

2,120 

1,356,800 

Maryland, 

11,000 

7,040,000 

Virginia, 

61,352 

39,265,280 

Norlh  Carolina, 

'15,500 

29,120,000 

South  Carolina, 

28,000 

17,920,000 

Georgia, 

58,000 

37,120,000 

Kentucky, 

37,680 

24,115,200 

Tennessee, 

44,000 

28,160,000 

Louisiana, 

46,431 

29,715,840 

Mississippi, 

47,147 

30,174,080 

Alabama, 

50,722 

32,462,080 

Missouri, 

67,380 

43,123,200 

Arkansas, 

52,198 

33,406,720 

Florida, 

59,268 

37,931,520 

Texas,  (if  boundec' 

by  Rio  Grande, 

325,520 

208,.332,800 

District  of  Cc 

lumb 

ia,           50 

32,000 

Total, 


936,368      599,275,520 


Territory  north  and  west  of  Mississippi  River  and  east  of  the  Rochj  Mountains. 

MILES.  ACRES 

Bounded  north  by  49°  north  latitude  ;  east,  by  Mississippi  River ; 
south,  by  the  state  of  Iowa  and  Platte  River,  and  west  by 
the  Rocky  Mountains, 

Indian  Territor3-,  situated  west  of  Arkansas  and  Missouri,  and 
south  of  Platte  River, 

Old  Northwest  Territory,  balance  remaining  east  of  Missis- 
sippi River,  and  northwest  of  Wisconsin,         .... 

Oregon  Territory  west  of  Rocky  Mountains,       .... 


723,248        462,878,720 
248,851        159,264,640 


22,336 
341,463 


14,295,040 

218,636,320 


Total  of  old  territory  not  organized  into  States, 


1,335,898        854,974,720 


California,    . 
New  Mexico, 


Total, 


-Grand  Aggregate. 


Total  in  Free  States, 
Total  in  Slave  States, 


MILES. 

448,691 

77,387 


ACRES. 

287,162,240 
49,527,680 


626,078        336,689,920 


SQUARE    MILES. 

454,340 


936,368 


Total  in  States, 1,390,708 

Total,  old  territory, ],. 33.5,898 

Total,  new  territory, 526,078 


ACRES. 

290,777,600 
599,275,520 

890,053,120 
8.54,974,720 
336,689,920 


Total, 3,252,684     2,081,717,760 


35 

greater  or  less,  each  town  is  indictable  and  punishable,  if  it 
does  not  maintain  one  or  more  schools.  St.  1839,  ch.  5G,  <§.  1. 
Revised  Statutes,  ch.  23,  <§.  60.  The  law  fixes  the  minimum, 
but  not  the  maximum,  of  schooling. 

In  regard  to  this  statutory  and  peremptory  requisition  to 
maintain  a  school,  it  is  observable  that  the  law  is  superseded, 
or  has  become  obsolete,  in  an  extraordinary  way.  There  are 
but  two  towns  in  the  State  which  do  not  voluntarily  tax  them- 
selves for  an  amount  of  schooling  many  times  greater  than  the 
law  requires.  One  of  these  excepted  towns  supports  its  schools 
with  the  income  of  a  fund  received  by  donation ;  and  the 
population  of  the  other  town  is  so  small  that  it  has  no  occa- 
sion for  more  than  one  school ;  and,  therefore,  the  length  of 
the  year  will  not  allow  it  to  transcend  the  law  so  much  as  it 
doubtless  otherwise  would.  In  this  respect,  the  towns  are  like 
a  righteous  man,  who  acts  from  a  higher  motive  than  a  legal 
mandate  ; — who  does  right  because  it  is  right,  and  has  no 
occasion  to  think  of  penalties  as  restraints  from  wrong. 

2.  All  children,  residing  within  the  limits  for  which  the 
above-mentioned  schools  are  respectively  established,  have  the 
right  of  free  admission  to  them.  The  law  does  not  specify 
any  age,  below  which  the  right  of  attending  the  Public  School 
does  not  attach,  or  above  which,  it  ceases.  The  power  of  de- 
termining these  questions  is  supposed  to  belong  to  the  school 
committees  of  the  respective  towns.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
children  of  a  very  tender  age  are  sometimes  sent  to  school, 
without  objection  ;  and,  in  some  parts  of  the  State,  it  is  no 
uncommon  thing  to  find  young  men  and  Avomen,  from  twenty 
to  twenty-five  years  of  age,  still  participating  in  the  benefits 
of  the  Public  School.     St.  1849,  ch.  117,  <§>  4. 

3.  Besides  schools  for  children,  each  city  or  town  may  ap- 

MIL£S. 

Length  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  to  the  mouth  of  St.  Mary's  River,         .        .        .  1,450 

From  mouth  of  St.  Mary's  River  to  Cape  of  Florida, 450 

Gulf  Coast  to  mouth  of  the  Sabine  River, 1,200 

Total, 3,100 

Those  states  where  the  public  lands  are  situated,  are  generally  exclusive  of  lakes,  ponds, 
&c.    Marshes  are  estimated. 
The  territories  include  such  waters  as  are  interior. 


36 

propriate  such  further  sums  of  money  as  it  may  deem  expe- 
dient, for  the  support  of  schools  for  the  instruction  of  adults^ 
in  reading,  writing,  Enghsh  grammar,  arithmetic,  and  geogra- 
phy.    St.  1847,  ch.  137,  ^  1. 

4.  Such  moneys  are  to  be  assessed,  levied,  collected,  and 
paid  into  the  treasury,  in  the  same  manner  as  other  city  or 
town  taxes  are ;  and  are  then  at  the  disposal  of  the  school 
committee  of  the  city  or  town,  and  to  be  expended  by  them, 
for  the  purpose  above-mentioned,  in  such  manner  as  they  may 
deem  expedient.     lb.  *§>  2. 

5.  It  is  left  optional  with  each  town  either  to  subdivide  its 
territory  into  school  districts,  or  to  administer  its  schools  in  its 
corporate  capacity,  and  without  any  such  subdivision.  Rev. 
St.,  ch.  23,  >§>  24.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  most  towns  are  sub- 
divided into  districts.  A  portion  of  the  towns  maintain  their 
schools  without  any  such  territorial  subdivision. 

As  a  general  fact,  the  schools  in  undistricted  towns  are 
greatly  superior  to  those  in  districted  towns  ; — and  for  obvious 
reasons.  The  first  class  of  towns, — the  undistricted, — provide 
all  the  schoolhouses,  and,  through  the  agency  of  the  school 
committee,  employ  all  the  teachers.  If  one  good  schoolhouse 
is  provided  for  any  section  of  the  town,  all  the  other  sections, 
having  contributed  their  respective  portions  of  the  expense  to 
erect  the  good  house,  will  demand  one  equally  good  for  them- 
selves ;  and  the  equity  of  such  a  demand  is  so  obvions,  that  it 
camiot  be  resisted.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  each  section  were 
a  separate  district,  and  bound  for  the  whole  expense  of  a  new 
house,  if  it  should  erect  one,  it  would  be  tempted  to  continue 
an  old  house,  long  after  it  had  ceased  to  be  comfortable  ;  and 
indeed,  as  experience  has  too  often  and  sadly  proved,  long 
after  it  has  ceased  to  be  tenantable.  So,  too,  in  undistricted 
towns,  we  never  see  the  painful,  anti-republican  contrast  of 
one  school,  in  one  section,  kept  all  the  year  round,  by  a  teacher 
who  receives  a  hundred  dollars  a  month,  while,  in  another 
section  of  the  same  town,  the  school  is  kept  on  the  minimum 
principle,  both  as  to  time  and  price,  and,  of  course,  yielding 
oidy  a  minimum  amount  of  benefit, — to  say  nothing  of  proba- 
ble and  irremediable  evils  that  it  may  inflict.     In  regard  to 


37 

supervision,  also,  if  tlie  school  committee  are  responsible  for 
the  condition  of  all  the  schools,  they  are  constrained  to  visit 
all  alike,  to  care  for  all  alike,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  to  aim,  in 
all,  at  the  production  of  equal  results  ;  because  any  partiality 
or  favoritism  will  be  rebuked  at  the  ballot-box.  In  undis- 
tricted  towns,  therefore,  three  grand  conditions  of  a  prosperous 
school, — viz.,  a  good  house,  a  good  teacher,  and  vigilant  su- 
perintendence,— are  secured  by  motives  which  do  not  operate, 
or  operate  to  a  very  limited  extent,  in  districted  towns.  Under 
the  non-districting  system,  it  is  obvious  that  each  section  of  a 
town  will  demand,  at  least,  an  equal  degree  of  accommodation 
in  the  house,  of  talent  in  the  teacher,  and  of  attention  in  the 
committee  ;  and,  should  any  selfish  feelings  be  indulged,  it  is 
some  consolation  to  reflect  that  they  too  will  be  harnessed  to 
the  car  of  improvement. 

I  consider  the  law  of  1789,  the  germ  of  which  may  be 
found  in  the  Province  Law  of  8  Geo.  1,  ch.  1,  (Anc.  Ch.,  p. 
666,)  authorizing  towns  to  divide  themselves  into  districts,  the 
most  unfortunate  law,  on  the  subject  of  Common  Schools, 
ever  enacted  in  the  State.  During  the  last  few  years,  several 
towns  have  abolished  their  districts,  and  assumed  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  schools  in  their  corporate  capacity  ;  and  I  learn, 
from  the  reports  of  school  committees,  and  from  other  sources, 
that  many  other  towns  are  contemplating  the  same  reform. 

6.  In  order  to  constitute  legal  school  districts,  the  ivhole  ter- 
ritory of  a  town  must  be  divided.  The  several  districts  must 
also  be  set  off  by  metes  and  bounds.  It  is  not  sufficient  to 
assign  certain  individuals  by  name,  with  their  families,  to  a 
district.  The  town  must  be  divided  geographically.  12  Pick- 
ering's Rep.  206,  Perry  v.  Dover.  7  lb.  106,  Withington  v. 
Eveleth.  But  if  certain  individuals  named,  with  their  polls 
and  estates,  are  assigned  to  a  district,  it  will  be  valid.  The 
assignment  of  estates  will  carry  the  real  estate  of  the  persons 
named.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  district  should  be  included 
within  continuous  geographical  lines.  7  Metcalfs  Rep.  218, 
Alden  v.  Roiindsville.  Probably  a  large  number  of  towns  in 
the  State,  which  carry  on  their  schools  on  the  district  system, 
will  be  found,  should  any  litigation  arise,  not  to  be  legally 
districted. 


38 

The  number  of  diflferent  districts,  or  schools, — for  some  dis- 
tricts have  more  than  one  school,  and  some  towns  are  not  dis- 
tricted,— in  the  State,  during  the  school  year  1S48-9,  was 
3,748.  Taking  the  whole  area  of  the  State  at  8,200  square 
miles,  this  gives,  on  an  average,  two  g^tf  ths  square  miles  to  a 
district  or  school, — a  fraction  more  than  two  miles  and  one 
fifth.  But  there  are  in  the  State  955,283.|  acres  of  unimproved 
lands ;  and  360,278^  acres  which  are  unimprovable  ;  so  that 
there  is,  upon  an  average,  about  one  school  to  every  two 
square  miles  of  improved  land,  in  the  State. 

7.  Two  or  more  contiguous  school  districts,  in  adjoining 
towns,  may,  with  the  consent  of  each  district,  and  of  the  re- 
spective towns  to  which  they  belong,  unite  and  form  one  dis- 
trict. Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <^<§)  49,  50.  They  may  separate  by  a 
vote  of  the  united  district  and  of  the  towns.  lb.  <§>  51.  See 
post,  under  the  head  of  "  Contiguous  School  Districts  in  ad- 
joining Toiv?is,'^ 

8.  Any  two  or  more  contiguous  districts  may  associate  to- 
gether and  form  a  Union  District,  for  the  purpose  of  maintain- 
ing a  Union  School,  to  be  kept  for  the  benefit  of  the  older 
children  of  such  associated  districts,  if  the  inhabitants  of  each 
of  such  districts  shall,  at  legal  meetings  called  for  the  purpose, 
agree  to  form  such  union  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the  legal 
voters  of  each  district,  present  and  voting  thereon.  St.  1839, 
ch.  56,  •^  2.  St.  1838,  ch.  189,  *§>  1.  These  acts  were  passed 
to  facilitate  the  classification  of  scholars.  If  two  districts  have 
seventy-five  scholars  each,  of  all  the  various  ages  admitted  to 
the  schools,  each  will  maintain  its  school  under  almost  paralyz- 
ing disadvantages.  Each  will  have  a  great  number  of  studies, 
and  a  great  number  of  classes  ; — of  course,  there  will  be  but 
little  time  for  each  class  ;  and  a  teacher  most  eligible  for  the 
large  scholars  may  be  very  unfit  for  the  small  ones,  and  vice 
versa.  But  by  forming  a  union  district,  each  can  send  twenty- 
five  of  its  more  advanced  pupils  to  a  union  school,  to  be  taught* 
by  a  male,  and  retain  the  other  fifty,  to  be  taught  by  females. 
Thus  three  schools  of  proper  size  would  be  formed,  which 
could  be  maintained  for  as  small  a  sum  as  the  two  original 
ones  would  cost ;  and,  as  every  teacher  well  knows,  could  be 


89 

taught  with  threefold  the  efficiency.  Should  a  larger  number 
of  districts,  or  districts  containing  a  larger  number  of  scholars, 
be  united,  the  benefits  would  be  proportionably  enhanced. 
See  post,  under  the  head  of  "  Union  School  Districts.''^ 

9.  Any  two  adjacent  towns,  neither  of  which  has  more  than 
two  thousand  inhabitants,  may  form  themselves  into  one  High 
School  District,  for  establishing  a  school  where  the  more  ad- 
vanced branches  of  knowledge  may  be  taught,  whenever  a 
majority  of  the  citizens  of  each  town,  in  meetings  called  for 
the  purpose,  shall  so  determine.  St.  1848,  ch.  279,  '§>  1.  See 
post,  under  the  head  of  ^^  High  Schools  for  adjacent  Towns.^^ 

10.  Two  districts  of  an  anomalous  character  exist  in  the 
State,  each  of  which  was  created  by  a  special  act  of  incorpo- 
ration obtained  from  the  Legislature.  Unlike  other  districts, 
these  chartered  ones  have  power  to  tax  themselves  for  the  gen- 
eral support  of  schools.  They  have,  in  this  respect,  the  same 
power  that  towns  have.  For  school  purposes,  each  one  is  a 
town  within  a  town.  The  establishment  of  such  districts  is 
contrary  to  the  general  policy  of  the  State ;  and  though  sev- 
eral efforts  have  been  made,  within  a  few  years  past,  for  the 
creation  of  similar  districts  in  other  towns,  they  have  been 
unsuccessful.  The  objection  urged  against  these  applications 
is  briefly  this  : — If  the  populous  and  wealthy  part  of  a  town 
has  power  to  tax  itself  for  the  support  of  schools,  the  strongest 
motive  to  make  common  cause  with  the  whole  town,  for  the 
same  object,  is  taken  away.  The  privileged  part  of  the  town 
can  have  the  best  of  schools,  though  all  the  residue  of  it 
should  have  the  poorest.  The  incorporated  portion  may  have 
the  preponderance  in  respect  to  wealth,  and  a  majority  of  the 
voters.  If  so,  the  rest  of  the  town  would  be  at  their  mercy, 
and  would  be  obliged  to  accept  such  schools  as  their  charity 
would  grant.  The  incorporated  part,  having  incurred  the 
expense  of  providing  for  its  own  schools,  must  be  actuated  by 
very  high  motives,  to  do  for  others  as  it  had  done  for  itself. 
The  whole  host  of  selfish  impulses  would  be  arrayed  against  a 
compliance  with  this  great  law  of  Christian  ethics.  On  the 
other  hand,  if  the  affluent  and  educated  portion  of  the  town 
can  move  no  faster  than  its  neighboring  districts  move  ;  if  the 


40 

condition  of  its  own  improvement  is,  that  the  neighboring  dis- 
tricts shall  be  improved  also  ;  then,  whether  animated  by  inter- 
ested or  disinterested  motives,  it  must  labor  for  the  advance- 
ment of  others  that  it  may  secure  its  own. 

This  division  of  the  State  into  towns,  school  districts,  con- 
tiguous school  districts  in  adjoining  towns,  union  districts,  and 
high  school  districts  for  adjacent  towns, — with  the  two  incor- 
porated districts  last  mentioned, — includes  the  whole  territorial 
organization  of  the  Commonwealth,  for  school  purposes. 

DUTY    OF    TOWNS    TO    MAINTAIN    SCHOOLS. 

11.  Each  town  in  the  State,  however  small  may  be  its  terri- 
tory, its  wealth,  or  its  population,  must  maintain,  in  each  year, 
one  school,  for  the  term  of  six  months,  or  two  or  more  schools 
for  terms  of  time  that  shall  together  be  equivalent  to  six 
months.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§>  1.     St.  1839,  ch.  56,  <§.  1. 

12.  In  every  town  containing  one  hundred  families  or  house- 
holders, there  must  be  kept,  in  each  year,  one  school  for  the 
term  of  twelve  months,  or  two  or  more  schools  for  terms  of 
time  that  shall  together  be  equivalent  to  twelve  months.  Rev. 
St.,  ch.  23,  ^  2. 

13.  In  every  town  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty  families 
or  householders,  there  must  be  kept,  in  each  year,  two  schools 
for  nine  months  each,  or  three  or  more  schools  for  terms  of 
time  that  shall  together  be  equivalent  to  eighteen  months. 
Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  *^  3. 

14.  In  every  town  containing  five  hundred  families  or  house- 
holders, there  must  be  kept,  in  each  year,  two  schools  for 
twelve  months  each,  or  three  or  more  schools  for  terms  of  time 
that  shall  together  be  equivalent  to  twenty-four  months.  Rev. 
St.,  ch.  23,  <^  4. 

15.  It  is  required  that,  in  each  of  the  above-mentioned 
schools,  a  teacher  be  employed  whose  morals  are  good,  and 
who  is  competent  to  instruct  children  in  orthography,  reading, 
writing,  English  grammar,  geography,  arithmetic,  and  good 
behavior.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <5,<§,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5. 

16.  Every  town  containing  five  hundred  families  or  house- 
holders, must,  besides  the  schools  above  mentioned,  maintain 


41 

a  school,  to  be  kept  by  a  master  of  competent  ability  and  good 
morals,  who  shall,  in  addition  to  the  branches  of  learning  be- 
fore mentioned,  give  instruction  in  the  history  of  the  United 
States,  book-keeping,  surveying,  geometry,  and  algebra;  and 
such  last  mentioned  school  must  be  kept  for  the  benefit  of  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  ten  months  at  least,  exclusive  of 
vacations,  in  each  year  ;  and  at  such  convenient  place,  or  alter- 
nately at  such  places,  in  the  town,  as  the  said  inhabitants  at 
their  annual  meeting  shall  determine  ;  and  in  every  town  con- 
taining four  thousand  inhabitants,  the  said  master  shall,  in 
addition  to  all  the  branches  of  instruction  which  have  been 
above  enumerated  for  both  classes  of  schools,  be  competent  to 
instruct  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  general  history, 
rhetoric  and  logic.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§>  5. 

17.  The  two  last  mentioned  schools  must  be  kept  for  the 
benefit  of  the  whole  town.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  establish 
such  a  school  for  the  benefit  of  one  part  of  the  town  only. 
16  Mass.  Rep.  141,  Commonwealth  v.  Dedham. 

18.  To  constitute  such  a  school  within  the  meaning  of  the 
law,  the  teacher  must  not  only  be  qualified,  as  the  law  pro- 
vides, but  must  be  engaged  to  teach  a  school  of  that  descrip- 
tion, and  the  school  must  be  duly  regulated  as  to  the  admission 
of  scholars.     lb. 

19.  In  every  school  in  the  Commonwealth,  containing  fifty 
or  more  scholars,  as  the  average  number,  the  school  district,  or 
town,  to  which  such  school  belongs,  must  employ  a  female 
assistant  or  assistants,  unless  such  school  district  or  town  shall, 
at  a  meeting  regularly  called  for  the  pm-pose,  vote  to  dispense 
with  the  same.     St.  1839,  ch.  56,  <§>  1. 

The  above  are  all  the  provisions  of  the  law  which  are  obli- 
gatory upon  towns,  and  which  can  be  enforced  by  penalties,  in 
regard  to  the  length  of  schools  which  the  towns  must  provide, 
the  qualifications  of  the  teachers  they  must  employ,  and  the 
number  of  branches  which  must  be  respectively  taught  therein. 

20.  Any  town  containing  less  than  five  hundred  families  or 
householders  may  establish  and  maintain  a  school,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  for  such  term  of  time 

6 


42 

in  any  year,  or  in  each  year,  as  they  may  deem  expedient,  in 
which  school,  instruction  shall  be  given  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States,  book-keeping,  surveying,  geometry,  and  algebra. 
Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§>  6.     ^ee  the  next  section. 

21.  For  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  execution  the  above 
requirements  of  the  law,  it  is  expressly  provided  that  "  towns," 
(and  by  a  general  provision  of  law,  the  word  "  towns"  in- 
cludes "  cities"  also,  unless  the  latter  are  expressly  excepted,) 
"  shall  have  power  to  grant  and  vote  such  sums  of  money  as 
they  shall  judge  necessary  for  the  following  [among  many 
other]  purposes : — 

"For  the  support  of  town  schools."  Rev.  St.,  ch.  15,  >§.  12. 
See  also  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  >§>  9. 

It  was  for  a  long  time  a  debated  question,  whether,  under 
this  general  authority  given  to  towns,  "  to  grant  and  vote  such 
srnns  of  money  as  they  shall  judge  necessary  for  the  support 
of  schools,"  they  could  "  grant  and  vote"  any  more  money 
than  would  be  sufficient  to  maintain  the  grades  of  schools 
specified,  and  for  the  length  of  time  specified,  in  the  law, — 
that  is,  whether  their  poicer  were  limited  by  their  obligation. 
This  question  has,  at  last,  been  carried  to  the  Supreme  Comt 
of  the  State,  and  determined  by  it ;  and  it  is  now  decided  by 
the  highest  judicial  tribunal  in  the  Commonwealth,  that  the 
statute  only  expresses  the  minimum  of  time  and  of  quality, 
below  which  the  schools  shall  never  be  suffered  to  fall,  but 
that  it  allows  any  town  to  rise  as  high  above  this  lowest  limit, 
as,  in  its  discretion,  fairly  and  honestly  exercised,  it  may  deem 
best.  This  conclusion  was  deemed  to  be  a  fair  inference  from 
the  language  of  the  law,  confirmed  by  long-continued  usage, 
and  demanded  by  the  necessities  of  a  republican  government. 
John  N.  dishing  v.  Inhabitants  of  Newburyport,  10  Met- 
calf  s  Rep.  508. 

In  the  above  case,  the  town  of  Newburyport,  which  had 
raised  money  for  the  support  of  all  the  schools  required  by 
law,  and  had  supported  them,  also  raised  money  to  support, 
and  did  support,  a  female  high  school  for  the  purpose  of  teach- 
ing book-keeping,  algebra,  geometry,  history,  rhetoric,  mental 
moral,  and  natural  philosophy,  botany,  the  Latin  and  French 


43 

languages,  and  other  higher  branches  of  knowledge  than  were 
taught  in  the  grammar  schools  of  the  town.  The  court  held 
this  to  be  a  town  school,  within  the  meaning  of  the  Revised 
Statutes,  and  that  the  money  for  its  support  could  be  legally- 
raised  by  tax.     lb. 

The  schools  of  Massachusetts,  therefore,  are  not  merely /ree, 
but  the  towns  have  a  right  to  make  them  as  good,  as  long,  and 
as  numerous,  as,  in  the  exercise  of  an  honest  discretion,  they 
may  deem  expedient. 

22.  Each  town  holds  one  or  more  annual  meetings.  These 
meetings  are  called  annual  because  the  law  requires  that  they 
shall  be  held  on  some  one  of  certain  specified  days,  each  year. 
Of  all  these  meetings,  due  notice  must  be  given  by  a  public, 
official  document,  called  a  ''warrant."  Every  male  citizen,  of 
twenty-one  years  of  age  and  upwards,  (excepting  paupers  and 
persons  under  guardianship,)  who  has  resided  in  the  State  one 
year,  and  within  the  town,  in  which  he  may  claim  a  right  to 
vote,  six  months  next  preceding  any  meeting  for  the  transac- 
tion of  town  affairs,  and  who  shall  have  paid,  by  himself  or 
his  parent,  master,  or  guardian,  any  state  or  county  tax,  which 
shall,  within  two  years  next  preceding  such  meeting,  have 
been  assessed  upon  him  in  any  town  ;  and  also,  every  citizen 
who  shall  be  by  law  exempted  from  taxation,  and  who  shall, 
in  all  other  respects,  be  qualified  as  aforesaid,  is  a  legally  quali- 
fied voter  upon  all  questions  concerning  town  affairs ;  and,  of 
course,  upon  all  questions  concerning  schools  and  school  com- 
mittees.    Rev.  St.,  ch.  1.5,  <§^  17;  11  Pick.  538. 

23.  On  the  day  appointed  the  voters  assemble.  The  article 
in  the  warrant,  relative  to  the  raising  of  money  for  the  support 
of  schools,  comes  up  in  its  order  for  the  consideration  and 
action  of  the  town.  A  specific  sum  must  be  proposed,  and  any 
voter  has  a  right  to  name  the  sum  he  wishes  to  have  raised. 
If  any  other  voter  deems  it  either  too  high  or  too  low,  he  may 
propose  to  modify  the  original  proposition.  The  whole  subject 
of  Public  Education  is  thus  thrown  open.  The  liberal,  the 
public-spirited,  those  who  see  in  our  Public  School  system  the 
great  upholding  principle  of  all  our  institutions,  and  the  means 
of  advancing  the  civilization  of  the  race, — who  see  in  it  both 


44 

the  conservative  and  the  progressive  principle  of  society, — ^will 
advocate  a  generous  appropriation.  Others,  who  are  actuated  by 
opposite  motives,  if  such  there  are,  will  contend  for  a  reduction 
of  the  grant  to  the  lowest  possible  amount.  On  the  one  side, 
the  duty  of  a  people  to  educate  its  children  ;  their  right  to  so 
much  of  the  property  of  the  community  as  is  necessary  for 
such  an  object ;  the  relation  of  education,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
crime  and  pauperism,  to  superstition  and  violence,  and,  on  the 
other,  to  individual  dignity  and  happiness,  to  social  prosperity 
and  renown,  to  the  ability  of  the  people  to  read  and  interpret 
the  Scriptures  for  themselves,  and  to  learn  more  of  the  attri- 
butes of  God  from  a  knowledge  of  his  works  ; — all  these  and 
every  other  consideration  which  legitimately  appertains  to  the 
subject,  may  be  adduced  and  expounded  ;  while  all  the  argu- 
ments, and  pretexts,  and  sophistries,  which  cupidity,  and  nar- 
row-mindedness, and  an  aristocratic  feeling  dare  to  set  forth, 
may  be  advanced  on  the  other.  Every  man  who  has  a  right 
to  vote,  has  a  right  to  speak.  When  the  discussion  has  closed, 
— ^which  has  sometimes  lasted  for  days, — the  vote  is  taken. 
The  will  of  the  majority  decides  the  question.  If  exercised  in 
good  faith,  there  is  no  earthly  tribunal  that  can  reverse  the  de- 
cision. The  vote  is  recorded.  The  amount  is  certified  to  the 
assessors,  is  levied  upon  the  inhabitants,  and  collected  from 
them,  in  the  same  manner  as  all  other  town  taxes  arc  levied 
and  collected.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  *§>  9. 

Thus  annually,  in  these  primary  meetings,  the  great  vital 
principles  on  which  society  is  organized  are  subject  to  be 
brought  under  review,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  people. 
The  claims  of  the  future  upon  the  present,  the  duty  of  parents 
towards  children,  of  ancestors  to  posterity,  may  be  rehearsed 
or  discussed  anew,  with  every  returning  year. 

It  is  obvious,  that,  in  a  free  government,  the  cause  of  Popu- 
lar Education  cannot  advance  without  a  corresponding  ad- 
vancement of  the  people.  Hence,  he  who  would  improve  the 
schools  must  enlighten  the  public.  The  work  is  slow,  like 
the  uprising  of  a  coralHne  rock  from  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  ; 
but  when  it  has  once  spread  out  its  broad  foundations  and 
reached  the  surface,  it  will  defy  the  tempests  and  billows  of 


45 

popular  commotion  ;  for  nothing  but  some  great  catastrophe  of 
nature  can  upheave  or  overwhelm  it. 

When  collected,  the  school  money  is  deposited  in  the  hands 
of  the  town  treasurer. 

24.  In  all  towns  whose  territory  is  divided  into  districts,  an 
important  question  now  arises,  respecting  the  principles  on 
which  the  money  shall  be  apportioned  among  them.  The 
authority  to  apportion  the  money  is  vested  exclusively  in  the 
towns.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  other  power,  so  important 
and  so  liable  to  abuse,  has  ever  been  conferred  upon  a  munici- 
pal corporation,  Avithout  some  right  of  appeal  or  redress,  in 
case  of  mal-administration. 

The  circumstances  of  the  districts  are  exceedingly  various. 
Some  contain  but  half  a  dozen  scholars  ;  others  as  many  hun- 
dreds. Some  have  only  a  few  small  and  poor  farms ;  in  others, 
there  is  a  concentration  of  wealth.  Hence,  in  a  town  con- 
taining a  dozen  districts,  it  often  happens  that  a  majority  of 
them  pay  but  a  small  portion  of  the  school  tax,  while  the  resi- 
due of  it  is  principally  derived  from  a  few  of  the  rest.  It  is 
obvious,  therefore,  that  no  specific  rule  can  be  devised  for  cases 
so  various.  This  is  probably  the  reason  why  the  law  has  sub- 
mitted all  questions,  relative  to  the  distribution  of  the  school 
money  among  the  districts,  to  the  towns  respectively.  The 
manner  of  distribution  has  been  quite  as  various  as  the  circum- 
stances which  the  towns  have  had  to  consult.  In  some  cases, 
where  no  striking  inequalities  existed  in  the  condition  of  the 
districts,  the  money  has  been  equally  distributed  among  them. 
In  other  cases,  one  third,  one  half,  two  thirds,  three  fourths,  or 
some  other  fractional  part,  has  been  divided  equally  among  the 
districts,  and  the  residue,  according  to  the  number  of  children 
they  respectively  contained,  between  the  ages  of  4  and  16 
years  ;  or  between  the  ages  of  4  and  21.  In  some,  the  divis- 
ion has  been  made  according  to  the  number  of  heads  of  fami- 
lies in  each  district ;  and,  in  others,  according  to  the  number 
of  houses  in  each !  Devices  have  been  innumerable,  and,  for 
want  of  recognizing  a  natural  standard,  the  most  arbitrary  ones 
have  been  adopted.  Public  attention  had  never  been  called  to 
this  subject,  until  the  year  1844.     In  that  year,  the  basis  of 


46 

distribution,  adopted  by  the  several  towns  in  the  State,  was 
ascertained  and  published.  (See  Eighth  Annual  Report  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  pp.  79-97,  and  7th  volume  Common 
School  Journal,  pp.  102-114.)  There  is  reason  to  fear  that, 
in  many  cases,  an  equitable  principle  of  distribution  has  not 
been  applied.  The  stronger  districts,  being  able  to  out-vote 
the  weaker,  have  sometimes  assigned  to  themselves  the  lion's 
share.  The  principle  of  distribution  advocated  in  that  Report 
was,  the  bestownient  of  equal  school  privileges  iipon  all  the 
children  in  the  town,  whether  they  chanced  to  belong  to  a  large 
district  or  to  a  small  one,  to  a  rich  district  or  to  a  poor  one. 

The  amount  and  quality  of  education  which  a  child  should 
receive  from  the  town  of  its  nativity  or  residence,  should  not 
depend  upon  his  being  born  or  having  his  home  on  one  side  or 
the  other  of  a  school  district  boundary,  arbitrarily  drawn.  The 
republican  and  the  Christian  doctrine  is, — the  bestowment  of 
equal  privileges  upon  all,  and  then  let  the  fortunes  of  each 
individual  depend  upon  the  use  which  he  makes  of  the  privi- 
leges bestowed. 

25.  We  have  now  arrived  at  a  point  in  the  order  of  proceed- 
ings, where  the  money  for  the  current  expenses  of  the  schools 
has  been  voted  by  the  town,  collected,  and  deposited  in  the 
town  treasury,  and  the  principles  which  are  to  regulate  its  dis- 
tribution have  been  made  known.  But  this  money  may  not 
have  been  designed  to  cover  all  the  expenses  incident  to  the 
support  of  the  schools.  In  cases  where  the  towns  are  dis- 
tricted, it  is  specifically  restricted  to  the  three  following  items  : — 
the  wages  of  teachers,  the  board  of  teachers,  and  fuel  for  the 
schools.     St.  1846,  ch.  223,  «§,  2. 

A  suitable  house  must  be  provided,  in  which  the  school  may 
be  kept,  and  the  house  must  be  properly  furnished  for  the  con- 
venience of  teacher  and  scholars. 

26.  When  a  town  is  not  divided  into  districts,  the  duty  of 
erecting  and  furnishing  schoolhouses  must  be  performed  by  the 
town  in  its  corporate  capacity.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  >§.  24. 

27.  And  even  when  a  town  chooses  to  divide  itself  into  dis- 
tricts, it  may  still,  in  its  corporate   capacity,   erect,  own,  and 


47 

furnish  all  the  schoolhouses,  and  retain  the  control  over  them. 
Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <^^  32,  28. 

28.  When  a  town  which  has  been  districted  wishes  either 
to  abolish  its  districts,  or  to  resume  its  right  of  ownership  and 
control  over  the  schoolhouses,  a  convenient  and  equitable  mode 
of  proceeding  is,  for  the  town  to  cause  an  appraisement  of  the 
value  of  all  the  existing  schoolhouses  to  be  made,  to  levy  a 
tax  sufficient  for  the  erection  of  new  ones,  in  all  the  districts, 
and  then  to  remit  to  the  tax-payers  of  each  of  the  districts  a 
proportion  of  the  tax  equal  to  the  value  of  its  house.  In  this 
way,  all  the  houses  become  the  common  property  of  the  town, 
and  if  any  district  has  just  provided  itself  with  a  suitable 
building,  it  is  exempted  from  a  further  assessment ;  it  pays  its 
tax  by  surrendering  its  house. 

I  now  proceed  to  consider  the  important  subject  of 

SCHOOL    DISTRICTS. 

29.  These  are  formed  by  the  town, — the  voters  in  each  dis- 
trict having  no  further  power,  in  giving  them  shape  or  extent, 
than  that  which  they  possess  as  voters  in  the  town.  Rev.  St., 
ch.  23,  <§>  24. 

A  town  has  authority  to  alter  the  limits  of  all  its  school 
districts,  or  of  any  of  them.  15  Pick.  35,  Alleii  v.  Westport ; 
4  Mass.  534,  Richards  v.  Daggett. 

30.  But  no  town  can  be  districted  anew,  for  school  pur- 
poses, so  as  to  change  the  taxation  of  lands  of  proprietors,  into 
districts  using  different  schoolhouses,  oftener  than  once  in  ten 
years.     St.  1849,  ch.  206. 

Where  districts  exist,  it  is  apparent  that  they  must  be  in- 
vested with  certain  powers,  by  which  they  can  perform  their 
duties  and  protect  their  rights. 

31.  In  Massachusetts,  each  school  district  is  a  body  corpo- 
rate. It  can  prosecute  or  defend,  in  any  action  relating  to  the 
property  or  affairs  of  the  district.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§>  57. 

32.  Individual  members  of  a  district,  however,  have  no  right 
to  appear  and  be  heard  in  defence  of  an  action  against  the 
district,  on  the  ground  that  they  have  an  interest  in  the  re- 


48 

suit.     Lane  v.   School   District  iji    Weymouth,   10   Metcalfs 
Rep.  462. 

33.  A  district  has  power,  as  a  corporation,  to  take  and  hold, 
in  fee  simple  or  otherwise,  any  estate,  real  or  personal,  which 
may  be  given  to  it,  or  purchased  by  it,  for  the  support  of  a 
school  or  schools  in  the  district.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  »§>  58. 

34.  The  inhabitants  of  any  school  district,  qualified  to  vote 
in  town  affairs,  may,  at  any  meeting  legally  called  for  the  pur- 
pose, raise  money  for  erecting  or  repairing  schoolhousies  in 
their  respective  districts  ;  for  purchasing  or  hiring  any  build- 
ings to  be  used  as  schoolhouses,  and  land  for  the  use  and 
accommodation  thereof;  and  for  purchasing  fuel,  furniture,  or 
other  necessary  articles  for  the  use  of  schools  ;  they  may  also 
determine  in  what  part  of  their  respective  districts  such  school- 
houses  shall  stand,  and  may  choose  any  committee  to  carry 
into  effect  the  provisions  aforesaid.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  *§>  28. 

Every  school  district  must  be  organized, — that  is,  it  must 
have  a  class  of  officers  by  whom  its  records  can  be  made,  kept, 
and  authenticated,  and  who  can  execute  its  legally  expressed 
wfil. 

35.  Where,  however,  an  action  was  brought  in  the  name 
of  a  school  district  which  was  not  duly  organized,  and  while 
the  action  was  pending,  the  district  organized  itself  legally, 
and  ratified  the  prosecution  of  the  action,  the  ratification  was 
held  to  be  valid  and  effectual,  and  the  action  was  sustained. 
Stoneham  v.  Richardson,  23  Pick.  62. 

36.  The  selectmen  of  all  towns,  divided  into  school  districts, 
and  the  prudential  committees  of  all  such  districts,  upon  appli- 
cation made  to  them,  respectively,  in  writing,  by  three  or  more 
residents  in  any  district,  who  pay  taxes,  must  issue  their  war- 
rant directed  to  one  of  the  persons  making  such  application, 
requiring  him  to  warn  the  inhabitants  of  such  district,  who  are 
qualified  to  vote  in  town  affairs,  to  meet  at  such  time  and  place 
in  said  district,  as  shall  be  expressed  in  the  warrant.  Rev.  St., 
ch  23,  <^  46. 

37.  The  warning  above  described  must  be  given  seven  days 
at  least  before  the  time  appointed  for  the  meeting,  and  it  must 
be  either  by  personal  notice  to  every  voter  in  the  district,  or 


49 

by  leaving  at  his  last  and  usual  place  of  abode  a  written  notifi- 
cation, expressing  therein  the  time,  place,  and  purpose  of  the 
meeting.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§,  47. 

38.  After  a  district  meeting  has  been  once  legally  called,  and 
the  district  organized,  the  voters  may,  at  any  regular  meeting, 
having  an  article  in  the  warrant  for  the  purpose,  prescribe  the 
mode  of  warning  all  future  meetings  of  the  district.  They 
may  also  direct  by  whom,  and  in  what  manner,  such  meetings 
shall  be  called.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  ^  48. 

It  is  a  general  principle  that  no  business  can  be  legally  trans- 
acted in  any  meeting,  of  which  due  notice  has  not  been  given 
by  the  insertion  of  an  article  in  the  warrant,  calling  the  same. 
10  Pick.  543,  Little  v.  Merrill. 

39.  But  where  an  application  for  calling  a  meeting  of  a 
school  district  contained,  in  precise  and  enumerated  articles, 
the  objects  of  the  meeting,  and  such  application  was  annexed 
to  the  warrant  for  calling  the  meeting,  and  the  person,  to  whom 
the  warrant  was  addressed,  was  therein  directed  to  warn  the 
inhabitants  of  the  district  to  meet  for  the  purpose  of  acting  on 
the  articles  named  in  such  annexed  application,  it  was  held 
that  those  articles  were  a  part  of  the  warrant,  as  effectually 
as  if  embodied  in  it.  George  v.  School  District  in  Mendon, 
6  Metcalfs  Rep.  497. 

40.  So,  in  the  case  of  Alden  v.  Rounsville,  7  Metcalf's  Rep. 
218,  the  following  article  was  inserted  in  the  warrant : — "  To 
act  any  thing  in  relation  to  the  limits  of  school  districts,  that 
the  town  may  see  cause."  When  the  town  came  to  act  on 
this  article,  a  petition  from  the  inhabitants  of  four  school  dis- 
tricts was  presented,  and  the  town  voted  to  refer  the  whole 
subject  to  the  selectmen.  At  an  adjourned  meeting,  the  select- 
men made  a  report,  recommending  that  said  four  districts  be 
formed  into  three  only  ;  and  their  report  was  recommitted  to 
them  "  to  divide  said  districts."  In  the  warrant  for  a  subse- 
quent town  meeting,  were  the  following  articles : — "  To  hear 
all  reports  of  committees,  and  act  thereon  ;"  "  to  act  any  thing 
in  relation  to  the  limits  of  school  districts,  or  relating  to  indi- 
viduals or  parts  of  districts,  who  may  wish  to  be  set  off  from 
one  district  to  another,"  &c.     It  was  held,  that  these  articles 

7 


50 

were  sufficient  to  authorize  the  town  at  the  last  meeting  to 
accept  the  report  of  the  selectmen  making  three  districts  out  of 
said  fom-,  and  to  establish  those  three  districts. 

41.  But  at  a  meeting  of  a  school  district,  duly  called  by  a 
warrant  of  the  selectmen  "to  choose  a  district  committee,  and 
to  act  on  other  business  that  may  be  thought  necessary,"  it 
was  voted  that  future  meetings  should  be  warned  by  the  clerk 
of  the  district ;  and,  at  a  future  meeting  so  warned,  a  sum  of 
money  was  voted  to  be  raised,  which  was  afterwards  assessed 
by  the  assessors  of  the  town.  The  court  held  that  the  vote 
at  the  first  meeting,  authorizing  the  clerk  to  warn  future  meet- 
ings, was  invalid,  as  there  was  no  article  in  the  selectmen's 
warrant  concerning  the  calling  of  future  meetings,  and  there- 
fore the  subsequent  meeting,  and  the  grant  and  assessment  of 
the  money,  were  illegal.  The  clause  "  to  act  on  other  busi- 
ness that  may  be  thought  necessary,"  was  not  sufficiently 
specific     Little  v.  Merrill,  10  Pick.  543. 

42.  A  freeholder,  to  whom  a  warrant  was  directed  for  call- 
ing a  school  district  meeting,  returned  thereon  that  "  he  had 
warned  all  the  legal  voters"  in  the  district  "to  meet  at  the 
time  and  place  and  for  the  purposes  within  mentioned."  It 
was  held  that  the  return  was  defective  in  not  specifying  how 
notice  was  given,  or  hoio  long  before  the  time  of  the  meeting. 
Perry  v.  Dover,  12  Pick.  206. 

43.  But  the  return  of  a  person  to  whom  a  warrant  was 
directed  to  warn  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  a  school  dis- 
trict, pursuant  to  the  statute  of  1799,  ch.  66,  <§<  4,  certifying 
that  he  had  warned  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  in  the  man- 
ner required  by  the  statute,  was  held  to  be  conclusive  evidence 
of  the  fact,  in  an  action  against  the  assessors  for  assessing  a 
tax  voted  to  be  raised  at  such  meeting.  Saxton  v.  Nimms, 
14  Mass.  315. 

44.  It  is  the  first  duty  of  the  qualified  voters,  after  having 
been  legally  warned,  and  having  assembled,  to  choose  a  mod- 
erator. They  must  then  choose  a  clerk.  The  clerk  must  be 
sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  by 
the  moderator,  in  open  meeting,  or  by  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
When  qualified  by  taking  the  oath  of  office,  the  clerk  must 


51 

make  a  fair  record  of  all  votes  passed  at  the  meeting,  and  cer- 
tify the  same  when  required.  The  clerk  is  to  hold  his  office 
until  another  is  chosen  and  sworn  in  his  stead.  Rev.  St.,  ch. 
23,  <§,  27. 

45.  The  clerk  of  a  school  district  is  liable  only  for  a  want 
of  integrity  on  his  part.  Should  the  district  pass  any  illegal 
vote  for  raising  money  by  tax,  the  district  is  itself  liable  for 
the  illegality  of  its  proceedings ;  but  if  the  clerk  has  certified 
truly,  to  the  assessors  of  the  town,  the  votes  of  the  district,  he 
is  not  liable.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§>  29. 

46.  In  a  book  of  records  of  a  school  district,  it  did  not 
appear  that,  at  a  certain  meeting,  there  was  an  election  of  a 
prudential  committee ;  and  another  record  was  introduced, 
which  the  clerk  of  the  district  testified  contained  a  true  record 
of  the  meeting,  and  in  which  the  election  of  such  a  committee 
was  entered.  He  further  testified  that  both  these  records  were 
made  by  him,  soon  after  the  meeting,  from  loose  memoranda 
put  on  paper  at  the  time  of  the  meeting.  It  was  held  that  the 
election  of  the  committee  was  duly  proved,  the  records  not 
being  contradictory,  and  both  being  originals,  and  the  one  which 
contained  the  entry  of  the  election  of  equal  validity  with  the 
other.      Williams  v.  Lunenburg,  21  Pick.  75. 

47.  Where  the  clerk  of  a  school  district  removed  into  au 
adjoining  district,  but  within  the  same  town,  and  another  was 
chosen  in  his  stead,  but  not  sworn,  it  was  held  that  the  first 
continued  competent  to  act  as  clerk.     lb. 

PRUDENTIAL    COMMITTEES. 

48.  It  is  optional  with  the  town,  even  after  it  has  divided 
its  territory  into  school  districts,  either  to  choose  a  prudential 
committee  for  the  several  districts  belonging  to  the  town,  or  to 
decide  that  each  district  shall  choose  its  own.  Rev.  St.,  ch. 
23,  <^^  25,  26. 

49.  By  whomsoever  chosen,  the  prudential  committee  must 
be  a  resident  of  the  district  for  which  he  is  chosen.     lb. 

50.  Whenever  a  town  determines  that  teachers  shall  be 
selected  and  contracted  with  by  the  prudential  committees  of 
the  several  districts,  such  town  or  district  may  elect  three  per- 


52 

sons  instead  of  one,  as  its  prudential  committee.     Rev.  St., 
ch.  23,  ^  25.     St.  1839,  ch.  137. 

If  the  town  chooses  the  prudential  committees,  then  the 
town  will  determine  whether  they  shall  consist  of  one  or  of 
three  ;  if  the  town  delegates  this  choice  to  the  districts,  then 
the  districts  will  determine. 

51.  Primarily,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  superintending  school 
committee  to  select  and  contract  with  all  the  teachers  for  the 
district  schools.  But  if  any  town  so  chooses,  it  may  vote  to 
transfer  this  duty  from  the  superintending  to  the  prudential 
committees.     St.  1838,  ch.  105,  ^  2.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  ^  25. 

There  must  be  an  article  in  the  warrant  for  the  above  pur- 
pose, and  it  is  supposed  that  the  vote  has  validity  only  during 
the  school  year  for  which  it  is  passed.  If  so,  then  the  vote 
must  be  renewed  each  year,  or  else  the  duty  of  selecting  teach- 
ers and  contracting  with  them  will  devolve  upon  the  superin- 
tending committee. 

52.  The  duties  of  the  prudential  committee,  by  whomsoever 
chosen,  are  as  follows  : — 

First.  If  the  district  owns  a  schoolhouse,  he  is  to  keep  it 
in  good  repair,  at  the  expense  of  the  district.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23, 
<§.  25.  This  does  not  require  a  previous  vote  of  the  district, 
directing  or  requiring  the  committee  to  put  the  house  in  proper 
order.  If  a  window  pane  is  broken ;  if  a  window  blind  loses 
a  hinge  or  a  fastening,  or  a  door  is  without  a  latch,  or  the  plas- 
tering has  fallen  from  the  walls,  or  the  room  needs  white- 
washing, or  is  tight  and  without  a  ventilator,  or  the  seats  need 
repairs  to  make  them  comfortable,  or  if  the  windows  have 
neither  blinds  nor  curtains; — in  all  these  and  all  similar  cases, 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  prudential  committee  to  repair  the  injury, 
or  supply  the  defect.  So  in  regard  to  chairs,  shovel,  tongs, 
andirons,  brooms,  mats,  door-scrapers,  sink,  water-pail,  dippers, 
or  tumblers,  &c.  &c.  Emphatically,  if  the  schoolhouse  be 
without  an  appendage  which  modesty  and  decency  require, 
and  which  may  prevent  unchaste  thoughts  and  indecent  expos- 
ures from  maturing  into  an  unchaste  life,  it  is  believed  to  be 
the  immediate  duty  of  the  prudential  committee  to  supply  it. 
53.  Second.     If  the  district  owns  no  schoolhouse,  then  the 


53 

prudential  committee  is  to  provide  a  suitable  place  in  which 
the  school  may  be  kept.  The  place  provided  must  be  a  "  suit- 
able "  one  ;  but  whatever  is  incompatible  with  comfort,  or  in- 
jurious to  health  ;  whatever  embarrasses  the  teacher  in  com- 
municating knowledge,  or  retards  the  children  in  acquiring  it, 
cannot  be  held  "suitable"  by  any  reasonable  tribunal.  The 
comprehensive  expression  of  the  law  is,  that  the  committee 
shall  "provide  all  things  necessary  for  the  comfort  of  the  schol- 
ars." Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§,  25.  21  Pick.  199,  Medford  v.  Med- 
ford. 

For  all  the  above-mentioned  purposes,  the  prudential  com- 
mittee has  the  whole  credit  of  the  district  at  his  command. 
Their  property  is  at  his  disposal.  He  must  make  these  provis- 
ions, and  the  district  must  pay  for  them.  They  cannot  pro- 
hibit him  by  any  vote.  He  derives  his  power  from  the  law, 
and  the  district  cannot  repeal  a  statute  of  the   Commonwealth. 

If  an  execution  be  obtained  against  the  district,  on  account 
of  a  liability  properly  incurred  by  the  prudential  committee,  it 
may  be  levied  upon  the  property  of  any  individual  belonging 
to  the  district ;  and  this  is  so  even  if  the  district  has  corporate 
property  liable  to  be  taken.  6  Metcalf 's  Rep.  546,  Gaskill  v. 
Dudley. 

For  no  one  of  the  above  purposes  can  the  prudential  com- 
mittee take  any  part  of  the  money  raised  by  the  town  for  the 
support  of  schools.  They  are  charges  upon  the  district,  and 
the  district  must  raise  the  money  necessary  to  defray  them. 

It  has  often  happened  that  the  prudential  committee  has  been 
seriously  embarrassed  for  want  of  a  small  sum  of  ready  money 
in  his  hands,  to  pay  for  trifling  repairs,  or  to  purchase  necessary 
articles  of  small  value.  It  is  true,  he  may  bind  the  whole 
property  of  the  district  by  any  contract  he  may  make ;  but  to 
impose  upon  the  district  and  the  town  all  the  trouble  and  ex- 
pense incident  to  the  levying  and  collecting  of  a  small  tax,  is 
what  a  good  citizen  is  reluctant  to  do,  unless  under  circum- 
stances admitting  of  no  alternative.  Formerly,  and  before  the 
illegality  of  such  a  course  was  pointed  out,  it  was  customary 
for  the  prudential  committees  to  abstract  a  portion  of  the 
money  raised  by  the  town  for  the  support  of  schools,  in  order 


54 

to  defray  these  contingent  expenses.  But  such  a  course  is 
clearly  without  warrant,  and  may  subject  all  parties  concerned 
in  it  to  legal  animadversion.  As  the  law  now  stands,  the  prop- 
er way  to  meet  these  petty  contingencies  is,  for  the  district  to 
vote  a  small  sum, —  ten,  twenty,  fifty,  or  more  dollars,  accord- 
ing to  its  circumstances  and  probable  needs, —  to  be  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  prudential  committee,  and  to  be  by  him  ap- 
plied to  defray  this  class  of  expenses,  as  they  may  arise, — he, 
of  course,  being  accountable  to  his  successor,  at  the  end  of  his 
official  term,  for  any  surplus  remaining  in  his  hands. 

54.  Third.  The  prudential  committee  is  to  provide  fuel  for 
the  schools.  The  expense  of  fuel  may  be  taken  from  the 
money  appropriated  by  the  town, —  St.  1846,  ch.  223,  <§>  2  ; — or 
the  district  may  raise  money  for  this  purpose  by  a  tax.  Rev. 
St.,  ch.  23,  >§,  28. 

55.  Fourth.  When  an  express  vote  of  the  town,  passed  for 
the  then  current  year,  has  transferred  the  duty  of  selecting  and 
contracting  with  teachers  from  the  superintending  to  the  pru- 
dential committee,  the  duty  of  making  such  selection  devolves 
upon  the  latter.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <^<^  25,  28  ;  St.  1839,  ch. 
105,  <§.  2.  But  it  is  not  legally  possible,  under  any  circumstan- 
ces, for  the  prudential  committee  to  make  an  absolute,  uncon- 
ditional contract  with  any  person  for  keeping  a  school.  He 
cannot  appoint  a  teacher ;  he  can  only  nominate  a  candidate  for 
teaching.  The  person  selected  must  be  approved  by  the  super- 
intending committee,  before  he  can  legally  commence  the 
school.  Such  an  approval  ratifies  the  act  of  the  prudential 
committee  ;  but  the  act  without  such  ratification  is  void.  Rev. 
St.,  ch.  23,  <5,  14. 

56.  Fifth.  The  prudential  committee  must  give  such  infor- 
mation and  assistance  to  the  school  committee  of  the  town  as 
may  be  necessary  to  aid  them  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties. 
Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§.  25.  Under  this  specification  of  duty,  the 
prudential  committee  is  bound, — 

1st.  To  cause  the  candidate  to  appear  before  the  superin- 
tending committee,  at  such  time  and  place  as  they  may  have 
appointed,  for  examination; — and  the  prudential  committee 
should,  if  practicable,  be  present  at  the  examination. 


55 

2d,  To  ascertain  whatever,  by  diligent  and  careful  inquiry, 
he  can,  respecting  the  moral  character  of  the  candidate  he  pre- 
sents, his  previous  history,  and  his  success  as  a  teacher  if  he 
has  ever  taught  school  before,  and  what  means  he  has  taken  to 
qualify  himself  for  teaching. 

3d.  To  give  the  superintending  committee  due  notice  of 
the  time  Avhen  the  school  will  begin,  and  also  of  the  time  when 
it  will  close,  so  that  they  may  visit  it  according  to  law. 

4th.  To  give  the  superintending  committee  the  earliest  in- 
formation of  any  danger,  from  any  cause  within  their  jurisdic- 
tion, which  may  impend  over  the  school,  and  threaten  to  im- 
pair its  usefulness. 

The  prudential  committee  and  the  superintending  committee 
are  different  hands  of  the  same  body,  and  if  they  are  not  ani- 
mated and  moved  by  a  common  spirit,  either  one  can  defeat  the 
most  praiseworthy  efforts  of  the  other. 

57.  In  all  cases  where,  through  neglect  or  other  cause,  no 
prudential  committee  shall  be  chosen  for  any  school  district,  the 
superintending  school  committee  must  perform  all  the  duties  of 
the  prudential  committee.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§>  31.  The  rule 
would  doubtless  be  the  same,  if  a  prudential  committee  should 
die,  remove,  or  be  otherwise  disabled,  or  resign,  and  no  suc- 
cessor should  be  appointed. 

58.  So,  too,  if  any  district  should  neglect  or  refuse  to  estab- 
lish a  school  and  provide  a  teacher  for  the  same,  it  becomes 
the  duty  of  the  superintending  committee  to  establish  such 
school,  and  to  provide  a  teacher  therefor,  as  the  prudential  com- 
mittee should  have  done.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§>  45.  See  also 
post,  104. 

59.  In  an  action  against  a  school  district,  to  recover  the  rent 
of  a  schoolroom,  hired  by  the  prudential  committee  of  the  dis- 
trict, he  is  competent  to  testify  to  the  contract  made  by  him, 
and  to  the  fact  of  the  keeping  of  a  district  school  in  such  room. 
Alle7i  V.  Westpoj-t,  15  Pick.  35. 

60.  It  is  no  defence  to  such  action  that  the  school  was  part- 
ly supported  by  private  contributions,  and  so  was  continued 
longer  than  it  otherwise  would  have  been,  or  that  the  instruct- 
ors were  not  legally  employed  or  duly  qualified  for  their  situa- 


56 

tions,  or  that  there  was  no  legal  appropriation  or  distribution  by 
the  town  of  the  funds  raised  for  the  support  of  schools.     lb. 

DISTRICT    SCHOOLHOUSES. 

61.  To  enable  towns  and  districts  to  construct  schoolhouses 
after  the  most  approved  models,  one  copy  of  a  work  entitled, 
"  School  Architecture  for  the  improvement  of  schoolhouses." 
by  Henry  Barnard,  Esq.,  is  furnished,  at  the  expense  of  the 
State,  to  the  clerk  of  each  town  and  city.     Res.  1849,  ch.  70. 

62.  If  the  town  does  not  provide  the  schoolhouses,  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  districts,  respectively,  to  do  so.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23, 
«^^  25,  32. 

63.  The  voters  of  any  regularly  constituted  school  district 
may  raise  money  for  erecting  or  repairing  a  schoolhouse,  or  for 
purchasing  or  hiring  any  building  to  be  used  as  a  schoolhouse, 
and  land  for  the  use  and  accommodation  thereof  They  may 
also  raise  money  for  purchasing  fuel,  furniture,  and  other  neces- 
sary articles  for  the  use  of  the  school  or  schools.  Rev.  St., 
ch.  23,  <^  28.     A7ite,  34 

64.  But  a  district,  after  having  voted  to  raise  money,  may, 
at  any  time  before  it  is  assessed,  rescind  the  vote.  Pond  v. 
Negus,  3  Mass.  280. 

65.  The  district  may  determine  where  their  schoolhouse 
shall  stand,  and  they  may  choose  any  committee  to  carry  into 
effect  any  of  the  above-named  powers.     lb. 

66.  If  the  voters  of  a  district  cannot  determine  where  to 
place  their  schoolhouse,  the  selectmen  of  the  town  to  which 
the  district  belongs,  upon  application  made  to  them  by  the 
committee  appointed  to  build  or  to  procure  the  schoolhouse,  or 
by  five  or  more  of  the  legal  voters  of  the  district,  shall  deter- 
mine where  such  schoolhouse  shall  be  placed.  Rev.  St.,  ch. 
23,  <^  30. 

67.  Whenever  a  suitable  place  shall  have  been  designated 
by  any  town,  or  by  any  school  district,  for  the  erection  of  a 
schoolhouse  and  necessary  buildings,  and  the  owner  of  the 
land  so  designated  shall  refuse  to  sell  the  same,  or  shall  demand 
a  price  therefor  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  selectmen,  is  un- 
reasonable, the  said  selectmen,  with  the  approbation  of  the 


57 

town,  may  proceed  to  select,  at  their  discretion,  a  schoolhouse 
lot,  and  lay  out  the  same,  not  exceeding  in  quantity  forty  square 
rods,  and  to  appraise  the  damages  to  the  owner  of  such  land,  in 
the  same  way  and  manner  as  is  provided  for  laying  out  town- 
ways  and  appraising  damages  sustained  thereby ;  and  upon 
payment,  or  tender  of  payment,  of  the  amount  of  such  dama- 
ges, by  the  town  or  district  designating  such  schoolhouse  lot,  to 
the  owner  thereof,  the  said  land  may  be  taken,  held,  and  used 
for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  designated.  St.  1848,  ch. 
237,  <§>  1. 

68.  But  if  the  owner  of  such  land  feels  aggrieved  by  the 
selection  of  such  lot,  or  by  the  amount  of  damages  awarded 
for  it,  he  is  entitled  to  have  the  matter  of  his  complaint  tried 
by  a  jury,  which  may  be  applied  for  within  one  year  after  the 
location  of  the  lot,  and  the  county  commissioners  are  bound 
to  order  a  jury  accordingly.  The  jury  have  power  to  change 
the  location  of  the  lot,  and  to  re-assess  the  damages.  The  pro- 
ceedings in  all  respects  are  to  be  conducted  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  is  provided  in  cases  of  damages  occasioned  by  laying  out 
highways.  If  the  jury  shall  increase  the  damages,  or  change 
the  location,  then  the  damages  and  all  charges  shall  be  paid  by 
the  town  or  district  for  whose  benefit  the  lot  was  selected ; 
otherwise,  the  charges  which  may  arise  on  such  application 
shall  be  paid  by  the  applicant  himself.     lb.  >§.  2. 

69.  The  land  so  taken  can  be  held  and  used  for  no  other 
pmpose  than  that  for  which  it  was  taken  ;  and  upon  the  dis- 
continuance upon  the  same,  for  one  year,  of  such  a  school  as 
may  be  required  by  law  at  the  time  of  such  discontinuance,  the 
land  will  revert  to  the  original  owner,  his  heirs  or  assigns,  dis- 
encumbered of  the  easement  or  lien  to  which  it  had  been  sub- 
ject,    lb. 

70.  It  may  happen  that  a  majority  of  the  voters  in  a  district 
may  be  opposed  to  assessing  upon  themselves  the  requisite 
sums  of  money  for  any  of  the  purposes  for  which  a  district  is 
authorized  to  raise  money.  To  prevent  the  evils  which  might 
follow,  if,  at  any  time,  the  district  should  fall  under  the  power 
of  perverse  or  avaricious  men,  it  is  provided  that  any  five  in- 
habitants of  the  district,  who  pay  taxes,  may  make  application 

8 


58 

in  writing  to  the  selectmen  of  the  town  in  which  the  school 
district  is  situated,  requesting  them  to  insert,  in  their  next  war- 
rant for  a  town  meeting,  an  article  requiring  the  opinion  of  the 
town  relative  to  the  expediency  of  raising  such  moneys  as 
were  proposed  in  the  warrant  for  the  district  meeting  ;  and  if 
the  majority  of  the  voters  present  in  such  town  meeting  shall 
think  the  raising  of  any  of  the  sums  of  money,  proposed  in  said 
warrant,  to  be  necessary  and  expedient,  they  may  vote  such 
sum  as  they  shall  think  necessary  for  the  said  purposes,  and  the 
same  shall  be  assessed  on  the  polls  and  estates  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  such  district,  and  it  may  be  collected  and  paid  over  for 
the  use  of  the  district.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <^  44. 

71.  If,  however,  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  neglect  or 
refuse  to  choose  a  committee  to  expend  the  money  so  voted  by 
the  town,  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  voted,  then  the 
town  may  empower  its  board  of  selectmen,  or  its  school  com- 
mittee, or  it  may  choose  a  special  committee  to  superintend  the 
laying  out  of  the  money  so  voted.  In  such  case,  the  money 
must  be  paid  over,  not  to  the  district  but  to  the  committee 
authorized  to  expend  it.     St.  1848,  ch.  274. 

72.  When  a  town  abolishes  the  school  districts  and  forms 
new  ones,  the  legal  title  to  the  existing  schoolhouses  vests  in 
those  of  the  new  districts  within  whose  territory  they  happen 
to  fall.     Stonehatn  v.  Richaj'dson,  23  Pick.  62. 

73.  A  school  district,  at  a  meeting  legally  held,  voted  to 
build  a  schoolhouse,  chose  a  building  committee,  and  instructed 
said  committee  to  make  a  written  contract  with  M,  to  build  the 
house  for  a  certain  sum,  pursuant  to  M's  proposal.  The  meet- 
ing was  then  adjourned.  At  another  meeting,  called  and  held 
before  the  day  to  which  the  former  meeting  was  adjourned,  the 
district  voted  to  build  a  schoolhouse  on  a  plan  then  first  pro- 
posed by  D ;  to  purchase  a  site  therefor  according  to  a  proposal 
then  first  made  ;  to  raise  and  appropriate  a  certain  sum  for 
building  the  house  and  purchasing  the  site  thereof;  and  chose 
a  building  committee  to  oversee  the  erection  of  the  house,  to 
enter  into  a  contract  with  D  for  the  building  thereof,  according 
to  the  plan  proposed  by  D,  and  to  take  a  deed  of  the  site.  It 
was  held,  that  the  votes  of  the  second  meeting,  by  necessary 


59 

implication,  rescinded  the  votes  passed  at  the  first,  and  that 
they  were  legal  and  binding.  George  v.  School  District  in 
Mendon,  6  Metcalf 's  Rep.  497. 

74.  Where  a  school  district  accepted  the  proposals  of  a  build- 
er to  erect  a  schoolhouse  for  a  certain  sum,  with  liberty  to  build 
a  public  hall  over  the  same  as  the  builder's  property,  he  allowing 
the  district  to  have  the  use  of  the  hall,  free  of  charge,  for  meet- 
ings of  the  district,  for  examination  of  the  schools,  &c. ;  and 
the  house  was  so  built ;  it  was  held  that  the  district  had  not 
exceeded  its  authority,  and  that  a  tax  to  pay  for  the  house  was 
legally  assessed.     lb. 

SCHOOL    DISTRICT    TAXES. 

75.  Whatever  moneys  a  school  district  has  legally  voted  to 
raise  by  tax,  must  be  certified  by  the  clerk  of  the  district  to 
the  assessors  of  the  town.  Within  thirty  days  after  the  receipt 
of  the  certificate,  the  assessors  are  required  to  assess  the  mon- 
eys so  certified,  in  the  same  manner  as  town  taxes  are  assessed, 
upon  the  polls  and  estates  of  the  tax-payers  in  the  district  and 
on  all  lands  liable  to  be  taxed  therein.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <5.  37. 
Williams  v.  Lunenburg,  21  Pick.  75. 

76.  Having  made  the  assessment,  the  assessors  must  issue 
their  warrant  and  direct  it  to  one  of  the  collectors  of  the  town, 
requiring  him  to  collect  the  tax  so  assessed,  and  to  pay  the 
same  to  the  treasurer  of  the  town,  within  a  time  to  be  limited 
in  the  warrant.  A  certificate  of  the  assessment  must  also  be 
made  by  the  assessors,  and  delivered  to  the  treasurer  of  the 
town.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§,  38. 

77.  This  last  provision,  in  relation  to  the  certificate  of  the 
assessment  to  be  delivered  to  the  treasurer,  is  necessary,  be- 
cause, if  the  moneys  are  not  collected  and  paid  over  to  said 
treasurer  at  the  time  specified  in  the  warrant,  he  is  authorized 
to  enforce  their  collection  and  payment  in  the  same  manner  as 
in  the  case  of  moneys  raised  by  the  town  for  its  own  use. 
Rev.  Stat.,  ch.  23,  <§,  41. 

78.  Every  collector  has  the  same  powers,  in  regard  to  the 
collection  of  a  district  tax  ;  all  assessors  have  the  same  power 
in  regard  to  the  abatement,  in  whole  or  in  part,  of  the  same  ; 
and  the  collector,  assessors,  and  treasurer  are  respectively  enti- 


60 

tied  to  the  same  compensation  for  services  performed  in  rela- 
tion to  a  district  tax,  as  for  the  like  services  in  respect  to  town 
taxes.     Rev.  Stat.,  ch.  23,  <^^  40,  43,  42. 

79.  In  raising  and  assessing  money,  in  the  several  school 
districts,  every  inhabitant  of  the  district  must  be  taxed,  in  the 
district  in  which  he  lives,  for  all  his  personal  estate,  (see  be- 
low, 81,)  and  for  all  the  real  estate  which  he  holds  in  the 
town,  being  under  his  own  actual  improvement ;  and  all  other 
of  his  real  estate,  in  the  same  town,  shall  be  taxed  in  the  dis- 
trict in  which  it  lies.     Rev.   Stat.,  ch.  23,  ^^  33. 

80.  In  the  assessment  of  all  taxes,  pursuant  to  the  preced- 
ing paragraph,  all  real  estate  and  machinery,  belonging  to 
manufacturing  corporations,  must  be  taxed  in  the  districts 
where  the  same  are  situated,  (see  below,  81  ;)  and  in  assess- 
ing the  shares  in  such  corporation,  for  the  like  purposes,  the 
value  of  said  machinery  and  real  estate  shall  be  first  deducted 
from  the  value  of  such  shares.     Rev.  Stat.,  ch.  23,  -^  34. 

81.  All  stocks  in  trade,  including  stock  employed  in  the 
business  of  manufacturing,  or  of  any  of  the  mechanic  arts,  in 
towns  within  the  State,  other  than  where  the  owners  reside, 
must  be  taxed  in  those  towns,  if  the  owners  hire  or  occupy 
manufactories,  stores,  shops,  or  wharves  therein,  whether  the 
said  stocks  in  trade,  or  the  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise,  or 
other  property  composing  the  same,  are  within  said  towns,  on 
the  first  day  of  May,  of  the  year  when  the  tax  is  made,  or 
elsewhere.     St.  1839,  ch.  139,  ^  1. 

82.  Whenever  the  real  estate  of  a  non-resident  owner  shall 
be  taxed  to  such  owner,  it  may  be  taxed  in  such  district  as  the 
assessors  of  the  town  shall  determine  ;  and  the  said  assessors, 
before  they  assess  a  tax  for  any  district,  must  determine  in 
which  district  the  lands  of  any  such  non-resident  shall  be 
taxed,  and  certify  their  determination  to  the  clerk  of  the  town, 
who  shall  record  the  same  ;  and  such  land,  while  owned  by 
any  person  resident  without  the  limits  of  the  town,  shall  be 
taxed  in  such  district  accordingly,  until  the  town  shall  be  dis- 
tricted anew.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  ^  35.     St.  1849,  ch.  206. 

83.  All  the  lands,  within  any  town,  owned  by  the  same 
person,  not  living  therein,  must  be  taxed  in  the  same  district. 
Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  ^  36. 


61 

84.  The  moneys  collected  and  paid  over  to  the  town  treas- 
urer, in  the  manner  above  described,  for  the  use  of  any  dis- 
trict, are  then  at  the  disposal  of  any  committee  appointed  by 
the  district,  to  be  by  them  applied  to  the  building  or  repairing 
of  schoolhouses,  or  to  the  purchase  of  buildings  to  be  used  as 
schoolhouses,  or  to  the  purchase  of  land  for  the  sites  of  school- 
houses,  or  to  any  other  purpose  for  which  the  district  may  law- 
fully raise  money,  according  to  the  votes  or  directions  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  same.     Rev,  St.,  ch.  23,  «§>  39. 

85.  If,  after  a  tax  has  been  voted  and  assessed  on  the  in- 
habitants of  a  school  district,  part  of  the  district  is  set  off  to 
another  district,  the  inhabitants  of  such  part  still  remain  liable 
to  pay  the  tax.      Waldron  v.  Lee^  5  Pick.  323. 

86.  But  if,  after  the  inhabitants  of  a  school  district  have 
voted  to  raise  money  for  building  a  schoolhouse,  and  before 
the  same  is  assessed,  the  limits  of  the  district  be  altered,  and  a 
new  district  be  formed  by  the  town,  the  vote  to  raise  the 
money  is  annulled,  and  the  assessment  cannot  be  legally  made. 
Richards  v.  Daggett,  4  Mass.  534. 

87.  Moneys  voted  to  be  raised  by  a  school  district,  for  the 
building  and  repairing  of  a  schoolhouse,  pursuant  to  statute 
1799,  ch.  66,  were  held  to  be  legally  assessed  by  assessors 
chosen  after  such  vote.     Potid  v.  Negus,  3  Mass.  230. 

88.  It  was  held  not  necessary  that  such  vote  should  be 
certified  by  the  district  clerk,  to  the  assessors  in  office  at  the 
time  the  vote  passed,  but  that  it  might  be  certified  to  assessors 
chosen  afterwards.     lb. 

89.  It  was  also  held  unnecessary  for  the  assessors  to  make 
the  assessment  within  thirty  days  from  the  date  of  the  certifi- 
cate of  the  district  clerk  ;  the  naming  of  the  time  for  the  as- 
sessment being  directory  to  the  assessors,  and  not  a  limitation 
of  their  authority.     lb.     Williams  v.  Lunenburg,  21  Pick.  75. 

90.  Should  the  assessors  make  an  illegal  assessment,  and 
issue  their  warrant  to  collect  the  money,  they  may  revoke 
their  doings,  and  make  a  new  assessment  and  issue  a  new 
warrant,  without  a  second  certificate  from  the  district  clerk  ; 
or,  if  their  office  should  expire  before  making  such  new  assess- 
ment, or,  if  they  should  neglect,  or  have  no  time  to  make  any 


62 

assessment,  the  district  clerk  may  make  a  second  certificate  to 
their  successors,  who  may  make  the  assessment.  Pond  v.  Ne- 
gus, 3  Mass.  230. 

91.  If  a  school  district  vote  that  the  money  raised  by  them, 
for  the  purpose  of  building  or  repairing  a  schoolhouse,  shall  be 
paid  within  a  certain  time,  the  assessors  may,  notwithstanding 
such  vote,  make  the  assessment  after  the  expiration  of  the  time 
of  payment  expressed  in  the  vote.     lb. 

92.  Should  assessors  omit,  through  error  of  judgment,  or 
mistake  of  law,  to  assess  on  an  individual  a  school  district  tax, 
such  omission  would  not  invalidate  the  assessment  as  against 
other  persons.      Williams  v.  Lunenburg,  21  Pick.  75. 

93.  Nor  would  a  tax  assessed  upon  the  inhabitants  of  a 
school  district  be  rendered  void  by  the  omission  of  the  assess- 
ors, through  misinformation,  mistake  of  fact,  or  error  of  judg- 
ment, to  assign  the  real  estate  of  one  or  more  non-resident 
OAvners  to  any  school  district.  George  v.  School  District  in 
Mendon,  6  Metcalf's  Rep.  497. 

94.  But,  where  stat.  1826,  ch.  143,  <§,  11,  (Rev.  St.,  ch,  23, 
<§.  35,)  required  assessors,  before  assessing  any  school  district 
tax,  to  determine  in  which  district  the  lands  of  persons  residing 
out  of  the  limits  of  the  town,  should  be  taxed,  and  to  certify 
in  writing,  their  determination  to  the  clerk  of  the  town  whose 
duty  it  was  to  record  the  same,  and  a  school  district  tax  was 
asssessed,  and  the  assessors  failed  to  comply  with  the  above 
directions,  the  assessment  was  held  invalid.  Taft  v.  Wood, 
14  Pick.  362. 

95.  In  an  action  against  a  school  district,  to  recover  back  a 
tax  which  had  been  paid  to  a  collector  de  facto  of  the  town,  it 
was  held  that  it  was  not  open  to  the  plaintiif  to  object  that  the 
officer  had  not  been  duly  elected  and  sworn.  Williams  v. 
Lunenburg,  21  Pick.  75. 

96.  In  an  action  against  a  school  district,  to  recover  back 
money  paid  for  a  school  district  tax,  the  plaintiff  objected  that 
the  meeting  at  which  the  tax  was  voted,  was  called  by  a  pru- 
dential committee,  elected  at  a  meeting  warned  under  an  irreg- 
ular warrant.  It  was  held  that  the  question  of  the  regularity 
of  this  warrant  was  not  open  ;  it  was  sufficient  that  the  com- 
mittee w£is  a  committee  de  facto.     lb. 


63 

97.  It  seems,  in  general,  that  an  inhabitant  of  a  school  dis- 
trict cannot  bring  an  action  against  the  town  for  money  col- 
lected on  an  illegal  assessment  upon  the  district,  but  the  money- 
is  received  by  the  town  treasurer  when  paid  over  to  him,  as 
agent  of  the  district.     Perry  v.  Dover ^  12  Pick.  206. 

98.  All  property  belonging  to  Common  School  districts, 
the  income  of  which  is  appropriated  to  the  purposes  of  educa- 
tion, is  exempt  from  taxation.     St.  1843,  ch.  85. 

CONTIGUOUS    SCHOOL    DISTRICTS    IN    ADJOINING    TOWNS. 

99.  In  treating  of  the  territorial  division  of  the  State  for 
school  purposes,  it  was  mentioned,  that  any  two  or  more  con- 
tiguous school  districts,  in  adjoining  towns,  may,  with  the  con- 
sent of  each  district,  and  of  the  respective  towns  to  which 
they  belong,  unite  and  form  one  district.  Ante^  p.  38.  Rev. 
St.,  ch.  23,  «^  49. 

100.  But  no  districts  can  be  so  united  unless  the  inhabitants 
of  each,  at  a  legal  meeting  called  for  the  purpose,  shall  agree 
thereto  ;  nor  unless  the  towns  to  which  such  districts  belong, 
shall,  at  legal  town  meetings,  called  for  the  purpose,  assent  to 
such  union.  When  any  such  vote  shall  be  passed  by  any 
school  district,  the  clerk  of  the  district  must  forthwith  send  a 
certified  copy  of  the  vote  to  the  clerk  of  his  town.  Rev.  St., 
ch.  23,  *^  50. 

101.  Whenever  the  voters  of  such  united  districts  shall,  at 
any  legal  meeting  called  for  the  purpose,  deem  it  expedient  to 
separate,  and  again  resolve  themselves  into  their  original  dis- 
tricts, they  may  do  so,  first  obtaining  the  consent  of  their  re- 
spective towns.     Rev.  Stat.,  ch.  23,  <§>  51. 

102.  The  first  meeting  of  such  united  district  shall  be 
called  in  such  manner  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  the  respec- 
tive districts,  at  the  time  of  forming  the  union ;  and  the  united 
district  may,  from  time  to  time  thereafter,  prescribe  the  mode 
of  calling  and  warning  the  meetings,  in  like  manner  as  other 
school  districts  may  do.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§>  52. 

103.  Such  district,  at  its  first  meeting,  and  annually  there- 
after, must  choose  a  prudential  committee,  who  shall  receive 
and  expend  the  money,  raised  and  appropriated  in  each  town, 


64 

for  said  united  district,  and  shall  possess  all  the  powers,  and 
discharge  all  the  duties,  allowed  or  prescribed  to  the  prudential 
committees  of  other  districts.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  •§>  53. 

No  provision  is  made  for  the  case  that  would  occur  if 
one  of  the  towns  containing  apart  of  the  united  district  should 
authorize  its  prudential  committees  to  select  and  contract  with 
teachers,  and  the  other  town  should  give  no  such  authority. 

104.  At  the  time  of  voting  to  raise  any  money  by  such 
united  district,  the  voters  must  determine  the  amount  to  be 
paid  by  the  inhabitants  in  each  town, — which  amount  must  be 
in  proportion  to  their  respective  polls  and  estates;  and  the 
clerk  of  the  united  district  must  certify  such  vote  to  the  assess- 
ors of  each  of  the  towns  to  which  the  territory  of  the  district 
belongs.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§.  54. 

105.  All  moneys  duly  voted  to  be  raised  by  any  such  united 
district  shall  be  assessed,  by  the  assessors  of  the  respective 
towns,  upon  the  polls  and  estates  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  dis- 
trict, and  collected  in  the  same  manner  in  which  taxes  are 
assessed  and  collected  in  other  school  districts.  Rev.  St.,  ch. 
23,  «§,  55. 

106.  The  respective  school  committees  of  the  towns,  from 
which  such  united  district  is  formed,  must  discharge  the  duties 
of  school  committee  for  the  district,  in  alternate  years,  com- 
mencing with  the  most  ancient  town.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  «§.  56. 

UNION    SCHOOL    DISTRICTS. 

107.  In  speaking  of  the  territorial  division  of  the  State  for 
school  purposes,  the  power  of  any  two  or  more  contiguous 
districts  to  unite  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  Union  School 
district,  and  also  the  design,  benefit,  and  preliminary  condi- 
tions of  such  union,  were  mentioned.  St.  1838,  ch.  189,  <§.  1. 
Ante,  p.  38. 

108.  Every  union  district  thus  formed  is  a  body  corporate, 
possessing  all  the  powers  of  other  school  districts  in  relation  to 
prosecuting  and  defending  suits  at  law,  or  holding  real  or  per- 
sonal property.  Such  a  name  may  be  given  to  such  district  as 
may  be  determined  by  itself  at  its  first  meeting.     lb.  <§>  2. 

109.  The  first  meeting  of  such  union  district  must  be  called 


65 

in  such  manner,  and  at  such  time  and  place,  as  may  be  agreed 
upon  by  the  several  associated  districts  respectively,  by  a  vote 
of  the  same,  at  the  time  of  forming  the  union  ;  and  the  union 
district  may,  from  time  to  time  thereafter,  prescribe  the  mode 
of  calling  and  warning  the  meetings  thereof,  in  like  manner  as 
other  school  districts  may  do,  and  may  also  determine  at  what 
time  its  annual  meetings  shall  be  held.     lb.  *§.  3. 

110.  Such  union  district,  at  the  first  meeting  thereof,  must 
choose,  by  ballot,  a  clerk,  who  shall  be  sworn  in  the  same 
manner,  and  shall  perform  the  same  duties,  as  are  prescribed  in 
relation  to  the  clerks  of  other  school  districts,  and  shall  hold 
his  office  until  another  shall  be  chosen  in  his  stead.     lb.  <§>  4. 

111.  Such  union  district,  at  any  legal  meeting  called  for 
that  purpose,  may  raise  money  for  erecting,  purchasing,  renting, 
or  repairing  any  building  to  be  used  as  a  schoolhouse  for  the 
union  school,  and  for  purchasing  or  renting  land  for  the  use 
and  accommodation  thereof;  also,  for  purchasing  fuel,  furni- 
ture, and  other  necessary  articles  for  the  use  of  said  school  ; 
and  in  assessing  and  collecting  a  tax  or  taxes  for  the  above 
purposes,  such  proceedings  must  be  had  as  are  prescribed  by 
law  for  other  school  districts.  (See  ante,  pp.  59-63.)  The 
union  district  may  also  determine  where  its  schoolhouse  shall 
stand,  and  in  case  the  location  thereof  be  not  determined  by 
said  district,  the  same  must  be  referred  to  the  selectmen  of  the 
town,  in  the  same  manner  as  is  provided  in  the  case  of  other 
districts.  (See  mite,  p.  56.)  A  union  district  has  power  to 
choose  any  committee  to  carry  its  legally  expressed  purposes 
into  effect.     lb.  *§>  5. 

112.  The  prudential  committees  of  the  respective  districts 
forming  the  union  district  shall,  together,  constitute  the  pru- 
dential committee  of  the  union  district ;  and  they  have  all  the 
powers,  and  are  bound  to  discharge  all  the  duties,  in  relation 
to  the  school  and  schoolhouse  of  the  union  district,  which  are 
prescribed  to  other  prudential  committees  in  relation  to  the 
schools  and  schoolhouses  of  their  respective  districts.     lb,  >§>  6. 

113.  The  prudential  committee  of  the  union  district  must 
also  determine  the  ages  and  qualifications  of  the  children  of 
the  associated  districts,  who  may  attend  the  union  school,  and 

9 


66 

they  must  also  determine  what  proportion  of  the  money,  raised 
and  appropriated  by  the  town  for  each  of  the  districts  compos- 
ing the  union  district,  shall  be  appropriated  and  expended  in 
paying  the  instructor  or  instructors  of  the  union  school ;  sub- 
ject, however,  in  both  the  above  cases,  and  in  all  other  matters 
relating  to  said  school,  to  any  votes  of  said  union  district  that 
may  be  passed  at  any  legal  meeting  thereof.  But  the  schools 
in  each  of  the  associated  districts  must  continue  to  be  main- 
tained, in  the  same  manner  as  though  no  union  district  had 
been  formed.     lb.  <§>  7. 

Should  one  of  the  associated  districts  have  a  prudential  com- 
mittee consisting  of  three  persons,  while  the  prudential  com- 
mittee of  the  other,  or  others,  of  said  associated  districts  sholild 
consist  of  but  one,  it  is  presumed  that,  in  voting,  the  three 
would  have  the  power  of  giving  but  one  vote. 

114.  The  school  committee  of  the  town  in  which  a  union 
district  may  be  located,  are  invested  with  the  same  powers, 
and  must  perform  the  same  duties,  in  relation  to  such  union 
school,  as  are  prescribed  to  them  in  relation  to  district  schools, 
lb.  <§>  8. 

HIGH    SCHOOLS    FOR    ADJACENT    TOWNS. 

115.  There  is  a  further  provision  for  the  union  of  two  adja- 
cent towns  for  the  pm*pose  of  forming  a  high  school.  No 
such  union,  however,  can  be  formed  by  any  town,  or  with  any 
town,  whose  population  exceeds  two  thousand.  The  language 
of  the  law  is  also  clear  and  express,  that  "  a  majority  of  the 
citizens  of  each  town,"  (and  not  merely  a  majority  of  the 
voters  legally  assembled  in  town  meeting,)  is  necessary  to 
make  such  union  a  valid  one.     Si.  1848,  ch.  279,  •§>  1. 

116.  The  school  committees  of  the  two  towns,  so  united, 
must  elect  one  member  from  each  of  their  respective  boards, 
and  the  two,  so  elected,  will  form  the  committee  for  the  man- 
agement and  control  of  such  school.  These  two  persons  are 
invested  with  all  the  powers  which  the  law  confers  upon 
school  committees  and  prudential  conmiittees.  St.  1848,  ch. 
279,  ^  2. 

117.  If  the  associated  towns  vote  to  erect  a  schoolhouse, 


67 

this  committee  has  the  power  of  determining  its  location ;  if 
the  towns  make  no  provision  for  a  schoolhouse,  then  the  com- 
mittee may  cause  the  school  to  be  kept  alternately  in  the  two 
towns.     lb.  <§>  3. 

118.  Unless  the  towns  otherwise  agree,  (which  they  have 
power  to  do,)  all  expenses  of  what  kind  soever,  caused  by 
such  school,  are  to  be  borne  by  the  two  towns  according  to 
the  proportions  which  they  pay  of  the  county  tax.     lb.  <§>  4. 

The  course  of  proceedings  has  now  been  traced  from  the 
territorial  division  of  the  State  into  towns,  and  of  towns  into 
districts,  to  the  raising  and  apportioning  of  money  for  the  sup- 
port of  schools,  and  the  erection,  furnishing,  and  warming  of 
the  schoolhouses.  We  have  now  the  districts,  the  houses,  and 
the  money  for  sustaining  the  schools.  The  provisions  for  sup- 
plying teachers  and  for  superintending  the  schools  remain  to  be 
mentioned.     This  leads  to  a  consideration  of  the  powers  and 

duties  of 

i 

SCHOOL    COMMITTEES. 

119.  The  inhabitants  of  every  town,  at  their  annual  meet- 
ing, must  choose,  by  written  ballots,  a  school  committee,  con- 
sisting of  three,  five,  or  seven  persons.  The  powers  to  be 
exercised  by  this  committee  are  expressed  in  the  most  general 
and  comprehensive  terms.  They  are  to  "have  the  general 
charge  and  superintendence  of  all  the  Public  Schools  in  the 
town."     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <5,  10. 

120.  The  designation  given  to  this  committee  by  the  statute 
is  "  a  school  committee  ;"  but  where  the  record  of  an  annual 
town  meeting,  for  the  choice  of  town  officers,  stated  the  elec- 
tion of  a  prudential  committee,  and  then  of  an  examining  com- 
mittee of  five  persons,  and  no  other  committee  which  was 
chosen  was  designated  or  described  as  a  school  committee,  it 
was  held  that  the  school  committee  were  sufficiently  denoted 
by  the  term  examining  committee.  Hartwell  v.  Littleton,  13 
Pick.  229. 

121.  Any  town  containing  more  than  four  thousand  inhabit- 
ants may  choose  an  additional  number,  not  exceeding  six,  on 
such  committee.     lb.  •§>  12. 


B8 

122.  Special  provisions  for  cities,  in  regard  to  the  number 
of  the  school  committee  they  may  choose,  and  the  manner  in 
which  they  shall  be  chosen,  are  contained  in  their  respective 
charters. 

123.  For  every  day  in  which  a  member  of  this  committee 
shall  be  actually  employed  in  discharging  the  duties  of  his 
office,  he  is  entitled  to  demand  and  receive  one  dollar  from  the 
town,  and  at  the  same  rate  for  any  part  of  a  day.  The  city 
of  Boston  is  specially  excepted  from  the  provision  which  enti- 
tles school  committee  men  to  compensation  for  their  services. 
Any  town  may  add  to  the  legal  compensation  of  the  commit- 
tees whatever  sum  it  may  choose.     St.  1838,  ch.  105,  <§>  4. 

124.  The  powers  of  the  school  committees  are  derived  from 
the  law,  and  their  duties  are  enjoined  by  it.  Their  authority 
cannot  be  restricted,  nor  their  compensation  diminished,  by 
any  act  of  the  town.  The  town  chooses  them  ;  when  chosen, 
the  law  governs  them. 

125.  But  if  any  school  committee  shall  fail  to  make  the 
annual  report  or  the  annifal  return,  required  by  law,  and  in 
consequence  of  such  failure,  the  town  shall  lose  its  portion  of 
the  income  of  the  school  fund,  then  the  town  may  withhold 
from  the  committee  such  compensation  for  their  services,  as 
they  would  otherwise  be  entitled  to  receive.  St.  1847,  ch. 
183,  '^  2,  and  St.  1848,  ch.  173,  «§>  1. 

126.  The  first  duty  of  a  school  committee,  after  being  duly 
organized,  is  to  provide  themselves  with  a  record-book,  in 
which  all  the  votes,  orders,  and  proceedings  of  the  committee 
must  be  duly  recorded.     St.  1838,  ch.  105,  <§>  3. 

127.  If  their  predecessors  in  office  had  such  a  book,  the 
committee  are  entitled  to  receive  it  from  them.  If  they  had 
not,  the  committee  must  supply  themselves  forthwith.  The 
expense  of  such  a  book  is  a  legal  charge  against  the  town.  At 
the  expiration  of  their  term  of  office,  the  committee  are  bound 
to  deliver  this  book  to  their  successors.     St.  1838,  ch.  105,  <§.  3. 

128.  If  the  territory  of  a  town  be  not  divided  into  school 
districts,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  school  committee  to  select  and 
contract  with  the  teachers  employed  in  the  Public  Schools. 
Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  ^^  10,  24,  31. 


69 

129.  If  a  town  be  divided  into  school  districts,  it  is  still  the 
duty  of  the  school  committee  to  select  and  contract  with  the 
teachers,  unless  the  town,  having  an  article  in  the  warrant  for 
the  purpose,  shall  have  expressly  voted  to  transfer  this  duty 
from  the  school  committee  to  the  prudential  committees.  St. 
1838,  ch.  105,  ■§.  2.  It  is  presumed  that  this  vote,  in  order  to 
be  valid,  must  be  annual. 

130.  When  the  following  preliminary  conditions  are  per- 
formed, viz.,  the  division  of  the  town  into  districts  ;  the  choice 
of  prudential  committees  for  the  districts, — whether  by  the 
town,  or  by  the  districts  themselves, — and  the  express  vote  of 
the  town  that  the  teachers  shall  be  selected  and  contracted 
with  by  said  prudential  committees,  then  it  becomes  the  duty 
of  said  prudential  committees  to  select  the  teachers  and  present 
them  to  the  school  committee  for  examination.  Rev.  St.,  ch. 
23,  -^-^  24,  25,  26.     St.  1838,  ch.  105,  <§,  2. 

131.  But  in  all  cases,  and  by  whomsoever  these  preliminary 
duties  are  performed,  the  school  committee  have  the  sole  power 
of  examining  teachers,  and  of  giving  them  a  certificate  of 
qualification.  No  person  can  legally  enter  any  Public  School, 
in  the  capacity  of  a  teacher,  until  he  has  received  from  the 
school  committee  a  written  certificate  of  his  qualifications 
therefor.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§><5>  13>  14.  Commonwealth  v. 
Dedham,  16  Mass.  141. 

132.  Whenever  any  school  committee,  being  satisfied  respect- 
ing the  qualifications  of  a  candidate,  shall  give  a  certificate, 
said  certificate  must  be  prepared,  in  duplicate,  and  one  copy 
must  be  filed  with  the  town  treasurer,  before  any  payment  is 
made  to  the  teacher  on  accoimt  of  his  services.  lb.  <§.  14. 
Any  moneys  paid  to  any  person  by  the  town  treasurer,  on  the 
ground  of  services  performed  as  a  teacher,  without  first  receiv- 
ing one  of  the  duplicate  certificates  which  the  committee  are 
required  to  give,  are  paid  by  said  treasurer  without  authority 
of  law,  and  he  will  still  remain  liable  to  the  town  for  the  sum, 
as  though  no  payment  had  been  made.  No  reason  is  perceived 
why  this  liability  should  not  continue  during  the  legal  exist- 
ence of  his  bond, — that  is,  for  twenty  years  after  its  date, — 
binding  his  heirs,  and  the  sureties  and  their  heirs,  during  this 
term  of  time. 


70 

133.  The  power,  then,  of  a  prudential  committee  to  select 
and  contract  with  a  teacher,  extends  no  further,  in  any  case, 
than  to  make  an  agreement,  conditioned  that,  if  the  candidate 
for  teaching  the  school  shall  be  able  to  undergo  a  satisfactory 
examination  before  the  school  committee,  and  obtain  a  certifi- 
cate of  qualification  from  them,  he  may  then  commence  the 
school.  lb.  "^  14.  The  power  of  the  prudential  committee, 
in  regard  to  teachers,  is  only  a  power  of  nomination  or  pre- 
sentation. 

134.  The  law  does  not  stop  with  requiring  that  schools 
shall  be  kept ;  it  solicitously  points  out  the  qualifications  of  the 
teacher  ;  and  before  any  person  can  keep  such  a  school  as  the 
law  recognizes,  he  must  submit  himself  to  be  examined  by 
the  school  committee  ;  and,  in  all  cases,  and  at  the  very  least, 
the  committee  must  be  satisfied  of  the  existence  of  the  follow- 
ing qualifications  in  the  candidate,  before  they  give  him  their 
certificate  of  approval. 

135.  1st.  Moral  CIualifications.  The  committee  must 
be  satisfied  of  the  good  moral  character  of  a  teacher.  Rev.  St., 
ch.  23,  <^  13.  No  talents,  however  profound,  no  genius,  how- 
ever splendid,  no  attainments,  however  ample,  can  atone  for 
any  deficiency  in  moral  character.  In  the  beautiful  language 
of  the  law,  it  is  the  "  duty  of  the  president,  professors,  and  tu- 
tors of  the  university  at  Cambridge,  and  of  the  several  colleges, 
and  of  all  preceptors  and  teachers  of  academies,  and  all  other 
instructors  of  youth,  to  exert  their  best  endeavors  to  impress 
on  the  minds  of  children  and  youth,  committed  to  their  care 
and  instruction,  the  principles  of  piety,  justice,  and  a  sacred  re- 
gard to  truth,  love  to  their  country,  humanity,  and  universal 
benevolence,  sobriety,  industry,  and  frugality,  chastity,  moder- 
ation, and  temperance,  and  those  other  virtues,  which  are  the 
ornament  of  human  society,  and  the  basis  upon  which  a  repub- 
lican constitution  is  founded  ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such 
instructors  to  endeavor  to  lead  their  pupils,  as  their  ages  and 
capacities  will  admit,  into  a  clear  understanding  of  the  ten- 
dency of  the  above-mentioned  virtues  to  preserve  and  perfect  a 
republican  constitution,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty,  as 


71 

well  as  to  promote  their  future  happiness,  and  also  to  point  out 
to  them  the  evil  tendency  of  the  opposite  vices."  Rev.  St.,  ch. 
23,  '^  7. 

The  school  committee  may  be  satisfied  respecting  the  moral 
character  of  the  candidate,  by  actual  knowledge,  derived  from 
long  personal  acquaintance ;  or,  in  the  case  of  a  stranger,  they 
may  have  well  authenticated  testimonials  of  the  fact.  The 
committee  should  note,  in  their  record-book,  all  letters  or  cer- 
tificates of  recommendation  exhibited  by  any  candidate,  whom 
they  shall  approve,  with  the  names  of  their  authors ;  and,  when 
practicable,  the  letters  and  certificates  themselves  should  be 
put  on  the  committee's  files,  so  that  their  authors  may  be  held 
to  a  rigid  accountability  for  the  truth  of  the  credentials  they 
have  given.  If,  before  the  civil  tribunals,  a  man  is  held  to  a 
strict  pecuniary  liability  for  accrediting  an  insolvent  as  a  man 
in  good  mercantile  standing,  or  for  recommending  a  swindler 
as  a  man  of  integrity,  how  much  more  stringent  ought  the  rule 
of  a  moral  tribunal  to  be,  when  the  dearest  and  most  sacred  in- 
terests of  children  are  perilled  by  means  of  false  testimonials  of 
good  character,  whether  knowingly  or  heedlessly  given  ! 

136.  2d.  Literary  Qualifications.  The  committee  must 
satisfy  themselves,  "by  personal  examination,"  of  the  "literary 
qualifications"  of  the  candidates  ; — that  is,  they  must  person- 
ally examine  the  candidates  in  all  the  branches  they  will  be 
called  upon  to  teach.  lb.  •§>  13.  Even  for  the  lowest  grade 
of  schools  known  to  the  law,  the  teacher  must  be  competent 
to  give  instruction  in  orthography,  reading,  writing,  English 
grammar,  geography,  and  arithmetic.  This  is  the  minimum 
of  literary  qualification.  It  is  lawful  for  districts  to  employ 
teachers  who  are  competent  to  teach  higher  branches ;  or  who 
are  able  to  teach  the  required  branches  better,  because  they  are 
masters  of  higher  ones ; — who,  for  instance,  can  teach  reading 
better,  because  familiar  with  the  principles  of  elocution  and 
rhetoric,  and  with  the  etymology  of  words,  from  whatsoever 
language  they  may  be  derived  ; — who  can  teach  writing  bet- 
ter, because  adepts  in  drawing ; — who  can  teach  English  gram- 
mar better,  because  familiar,  from  the  study  of  other  languages, 


72 

with  the  principles  of  universal  grammar  ; — who  can  teach 
geography  better,  because  acquainted  with  astronomy,  geology, 
statistics,  and  civil  and  natural  history  ; — and  who  can  teach 
arithmetic  better,  because  masters  of  the  higher  mathematics. 
So,  too,  a  knowledge  of  Human  Physiology  may  be  required 
in  a  teacher,  in  order  to  secure  the  health  of  the  children ;  be- 
cause, on  health  depends  their  ability  to  go  to  school  at  all, 
and  much  also  of  their  ability  to  study  when  in  school. 

When  the  wealth  of  the  town  is  sufficient  to  bear  the  ex- 
pense, and  the  proficiency  of  the  scholars  in  all  the  primary 
branches  has  prepared  them  to  enter  upon  a  higher  course,  the 
law  will  not  only  authorize  a  town  to  demand  instruction  in  a 
more  advanced  course,  but  its  true  spirit  will  require  the  exam- 
ining committee  to  reject  a  candidate  who  is  not  competent  to 
carry  the  pupils  through  it.  Cushing  v.  Newburyport,  10 
Metcalf  s  Rep.  508. 

137.  3d.  Capacity  to  Govern.  The  committee  must  also 
make  special  inquiry  as  to  the  capacity  of  each  candidate  for 
the  government  of  a  school.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§.  13.  No  am- 
biguous indications,  on  this  point,  will  be  given  by  the  general 
air  and  manner  of  a  candidate,  the  expression  of  the  counte- 
nance, the  tone  of  the  voice,  the  firmness  or  fickleness  legible 
in  the  eye,  the  self-esteem,  or  the  servility  proclaimed  by  the 
natural  language. 

When  a  candidate  has  taught  school  before,  and  has  suc- 
ceeded in  maintaining  good  order,  without  the  use  of  improper 
means,  or  without  the  use  of  proper  means  to  an  improper  ex- 
tent, this  fact  is  strong  evidence  in  favor  of  a  capacity  for  gov- 
ermncnt.  Especially  is  it  so,  if  the  general  circumstances  and 
condition  of  the  schools  are  substantially  alike. 

Visiting  a  school  in  which  a  candidate  may  be  engaged,  and 
actually  witnessing  the  manner  in  which  he  conducts  it,  is  also 
a  valuable  means  of  ascertaining  the  same  fact. 

But  it  is  supposed  that  neither  nor  all  of  the  above  methods 
can  supersede  an  actual  questioning  of  the  candidate  as  to  his 
views  of  the  princijjles  on  which  a  school  should  be  conducted. 
It  is  of  primary  importance  to  know  whether  the  fundamental 


73 

idea  of  government,  in  his  opinion,  is  the  will  of  the  teacher, 
or  the  applause  of  the  neighborhood, —  which  may  be  for  one 
quality  in  one  place  and  for  another  quality  in  another, —  or 
the  good  of  the  governed  ; — whether,  on  the  one  hand,  he 
would  succumb  to  resistance  and  be  driven  away  before  rebell- 
ion, rather  than  to  strike  a  blow  ;  or,  on  the  other,  whether  he 
would  flout  the  docile,  and  be  capricious  towards  the  obedient, 
to  prove  whether  there  exists  in  them  an  unreasoning  and  un- 
conditional submission  to  his  claim  of  sovereignty. 

If  a  candidate  has  no  views  respecting  the  great  principles 
on  which  the  government  of  a  school  should  proceed,  the  com- 
mittee cannot  affirm  that  he  has  a  capacity  to  govern.  If  such 
a  person  has  any  capacity,  it  must  be  in  a  latent  state  ;  but  the 
committee  must  be  satisfied,  not  of  a  possible  or  potential,  but 
of  an  actual  capacity ;  it  must  be  in  a  developed  state. 

Probably  few  provisions,  if  any,  in  the  statute  book,  have 
been  more  efficacious  and  serviceable  in  improving  our  schools, 
than  the  one  which  requires  committees  to  examine  teachers, — 
as  a  few  considerations  will  abundantly  show. 

There  are  annually  employed,  in  the  Public  Schools  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, between  five  and  six  thousand  different  persons  as 
teachers.  I  suppose  it  to  be  indisputable  that  no  section  of  the 
Union,  of  equal  population,  supplies  so  large  a  proportion  of 
young  men  for  the  professions,  and  for  the  various  departments 
of  educated  labor,  as  New  England  ;  and,  among  the  New  Eng- 
land States,  Massachusetts,  in  this  respect,  is  doubtless  pre- 
eminent. The  Public  Schools  of  many  towns,  and  the  large 
number  of  highly  respectable  academies  and  private  schools^ 
carry  forward  a  numerous  body  of  young  men  and  women  to 
such  a  degree  of  literary  attainment  as  enrolls  them  in  the  list 
of  candidates  for  school  keeping.  Students  in  our  colleges  j 
ambitious  young  men,  who  are  looking  forward  to  some  other 
employment,  actually  more  lucrative,  and,  in  public  estimation^ 
more  honorable,  and  who  must  obtain  a  little  money  as  a 
means  of  seciuing  their  ultimate  object ;  many  mechanics  and 
farmers,  possessed  of  more  than  ordinary  intelligence  and  at- 
tainment, and  who  were  renowned,  when  they  went  to  school, 
for  doing  all  the  "hard  sums"  in  the  arithmetical  text  books  ; — - 
10 


74 

all  these  have  been  candidates  for  public  school  keeping.  Ad- 
ded to  this,  the  average  rate  of  compensation  given  to  teachers 
in  Massachusetts  has  far  exceeded  that  which  has  been  given 
in  any  of  the  neighboring  states.  Hence,  in  the  autumn  of 
the  year,  hosts  of  adventurers  flock  hither,  from  Maine,  from 
New  Hampshire,  from  Yermont,  and  from  Connecticut,  in  quest 
of  employment  as  teachers  in  our  schools.  Some  of  these  are 
full,  not  only  of  enterprise,  but  of  talent ;  but,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, it  would  be  strange  indeed,  if  among  the  fine  gold 
there  should  not  be  found  something  of  dross.  All  these  are 
competitors  for  our  Public  Schools.  They  often  exhibit  recom- 
mendations of  a  highly  imaginative  character, —  recommenda- 
tions which  prove  the  good  will  of  their  signers,  far  more  than 
their  good  sense  or  their  trustworthiness  ;  for  it  is  well  known 
that  the  facility  with  which  such  recommendations  can  be  ob- 
tained is  the  scandal  of  our  people.  What  barrier,  then,  but 
the  vigilance  and  intelligence  of  our  school  committees,  shall 
prevent  our  schools  from  being  invaded  by  practical  immorality, 
by  literary  imposture,  and  by  an  inaptitude  for  all  government 
except  the  government  of  fear  and  force  ?  What  but  the 
fidelity  of  school  committees  shall  prevent  sound  knowledge 
and  high  talent  from  being  thrust  aside  by  ignorance  and  pre- 
tension ?  The  interests  of  all  good  teachers,  emphatically  the 
interests  of  the  rising  generation,  demand,  by  every  considera- 
tion that  can  appeal  to  patriotism,  to  philanthropy,  or  to  the 
sense  of  religious  obligation,  that  the  legal  duty  of  examining 
teachers  should  be  performed  without  fear,  or  favor,  or  excep- 
tion. It  has  happened,  a  thousand  times,  that  prosperity  or 
adversity  has  shone  or  frowned  upon  the  schools  of  a  town, — 
like  sunshine  or  frost  upon  the  early  flowers  of  spring, —  as  it 
has  been  blest  or  cursed  with  a  faithful  or  a  neglectful  school 
committee. 

Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  for  every  public  consideration 
demanding  a  thorough  examination  of  teachers,  there  is  a  self- 
ish one  which  resists  it.  Individuals  in  a  district  or  a  town, 
who,  in  their  own  minds,  have  appropriated  to  themselves  the 
ensuing  term  of  the  schools,  may,  by  management  or  collusion, 
secure  the  choice  of  a  committee,  who,  either  through  inability 


75 

or  favoritism,  will  make  the  examination  only  a  polite  and 
facile  ceremony  of  introduction  into  the  school ;  or, —  what 
has  not  unfrequently  happened, —  the  expectants  will  secure 
the  choice  of  a  prudential  committee,  who  will  open  to  them 
the  door  of  the  schoolhouse  without  any  examination  at  all. 
Sometimes  it  is  not  difficult  for  a  person,  through  his  relatives 
and  friends,  to  create  an  apparent  public  opinion  in  a  district, 
which  shall  seem  to  demand,  that  the  individual  shall  be  se- 
lected to  keep  the  school  who  has  himself  been  the  fraudulent 
author  of  the  factitious  opinion  that  points  to  him.  All  per- 
sons, too,  who  are  intending  to  obtain  a  school,  but  who  are 
fearful  of  the  results  of  an  examination,  will,  of  course,  be  op- 
posed to  the  principle  of  the  law  which  requires  an  examina- 
tion, and  will  therefore  be  ready  to  aid  those  who  strive  to 
evade  it. 

The  statute  of  1826,  ch.  143,  -^  5,  (passed  March  10,  1827,) 
directed  that  school  committees  should  ascertain  the  qualifica- 
tions of  teachers,  by  personal  examination,  "  or  otherwise." 
Under  the  alternative  clause,  "  or  otherwise,"  committees 
might  legally  justify  themselves  for  deciding  the  question  of 
qualification,  on  written  or  oral  evidence,  produced  by  the  can- 
didate, or  by  the  prudential  committee ;  and,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  is  well  known  that  the  committees,  either  to  avoid  the 
labor  of  examination,  or  for  some  other  reason,  usually  adopted 
such  a  course.  But  in  the  Revised  Statutes,  ch.  23,  <§.  13,  re- 
enacting,  in  other  respects,  the  former  provision,  the  words,  "  or 
otherwise,"  were  purposely  omitted.  Hence  the  only  mode 
now  known  to  the  law,  of  performing  this  duty,  is  by  a  per- 
sonal examination  of  the  candidate, — that  is,  by  question  and 
answer,  either  oral  or  written. 

In  the  autumn  of  1837, — two  years  after  the  enactment  of 
the  Revised  Statutes,  and  during  the  first  year  of  the  existence 
of  the  Board  of  Education, — a  circular  letter  was  sent  to  each 
board  of  school  committee  men  in  the  State,  inquiring,  among 
other  things,  to  what  extent  teachers  were  examined  before 
they  commenced  their  schools  ;  and,  Avhere  an  examination 
was  had,  whether  it  was  genuine  and  thorough,  or  only  formal 
and  superficial.     The  result  of  the  answers  received  was,  that, 


76 

in  regard  to  a  majority  of  the  teachers  in  the  State,  the  exami- 
nation was  either  dispensed  with  altogether,  or  candidates 
were  tried  by  tests  which  were  not  sm-e  to  make  any  discrimi- 
nation between  the  genuine  and  the  spurious.  What  still  fur- 
ther aggravated  this  difficulty  was,  that  in  two  thirds  of  the 
towns  in  the  Commonwealth,  more  or  fewer  of  the  teachers 
were  allowed,  in  contravention  of  the  express  letter  and  true 
spirit  of  the  law,  to  commence  their  schools  without  being 
examined  at  all.  As  a  natural  consequence,  wherever  this 
important  provision  of  the  law  has  been  disregarded,  a  greater 
or  less  number  of  incompetent  teachers  have  obtained  illicit 
possession  of  the  schools ;  and  their  pupils,  if  afterwards  sub- 
jected to  a  thorough  scrutiny,  have  betrayed  not  only,  a  mea- 
greness  of  general  attainment,  but  shameful  looseness  and 
inaccuracy  in  what  they  professed  to  have  learned. 

Public  opinion,  however,  has  now,  for  twelve  years,  been 
brought  to  bear  upon  this  subject ;  the  positive  requirements 
of  the  law  have  been  urged  home  upon  committees ;  the  ben- 
efits of  a  compliance  with  it  have  been  experienced,  and  this 
experience  has  been  contrasted  with  the  evils  of  non-compli- 
ance, until,  at  the  present  time,  this  salutary  law  is  professedly 
complied  with  in  almost  every  town  in  the  State,  and,  in  the 
great  majority  of  them,  it  is  substantially  so. 

138.  Should  the  examination  of  a  candidate  prove  satisfac- 
tory to  the  committee,  they  are  to  prepare  two  certificates  of 
the  same  tenor  and  date.  One  of  these  constitutes  the  com- 
mission or  credential  of  the  teacher.  It  shows,  to  all  parties 
concerned,  that  he  has  authority  to  enter  the  school  and  to 
assume  the  instruction  and  government  of  it.  The  other,  as 
before  stated,  must  be  filed  with  the  treasurer  of  the  town, 
before  any  payment  can  lawfully  be  made  to  the  teacher  on 
account  of  his  services.     lb.  <§.  14. 

139.  It  follows,  from  these  provisions,  as  a  necessary  conse- 
quence, that  a  teacher  who  opens  his  school,  without  having 
previously  received  a  certificate  of  qualification  from  the  com- 
mittee, must  forfeit  all  claim  to  wages,  until  such  time  as  a 
certificate  may  be  given  him.  Having  entered  the  school, 
not  only  without  law,  but  in  defiance  of  law,  he  can  recover 


77 

nothing  in  a  court  of  law  ;  but  is  the  object  of  punishment, 
rather  than  of  remuneration. 

Neither  can  a  committee  antedate  a  certificate.  To  give 
their  certificate  an  earher  date  than  the  true  one  would  be  a 
plain  violation  of  their  duty,  because  they  cannot  say,  offi- 
cially, that  a  man  has  been  qualified,  but  only  that  he  is  now 
qualified. 

So,  too,  the  practice  which,  in  some  few  instances,  has 
existed,  of  giving  a  conditional  certificate, — that  is,  that  a 
teacher  may  commence  the  school,  provided  he  will  submit  to 
a  further  examination  afterwards ;  or  that  he  may  commence 
the  school,  but  shall  leave  it,  provided  the  committee  are  not 
satisfied,  at  their  first  visitation,  with  its  appearance  ;  or,  in- 
deed, on  any  other  condition, — has  no  warrant  in  law.  The 
statute  provides  only  for  the  alternative  of  a  full  certificate, 
for  the  school  for  which  it  is  given,  or  an  absolute  rejection. 

140.  An  important  question  has  been  agitated,  whether  a 
person  illegally  admitted,  or  smuggled,  into  a  school,  by  the 
prudential  committee,  without  a  certificate,  can  legally  exercise 
any  of  the  prerogatives  of  a  teacher  ; — whether,  for  instance, 
if  he  should  chastise  a  refractory  or  vicious  scholar,  so  much 
only,  as,  under  other  circumstances,  would  be  held  justifiable, 
he  could  defend  himself  from  fine  or  damages,  in  a  prosecution 
or  action  for  assault  and  battery,  instituted  against  him  in  a 
court  of  law. 

On  the  one  hand,  it  is  maintained,  that  a  supposititious  teach- 
er,— a  teacher  without  a  certificate, — can  no  more  justify  a 
punishment  inflicted  by  him  on  a  scholar,  than  a  sheriff",  with- 
out a  commission,  can  justify  an  arrest  of  person,  or  a  seizure 
of  chattels  ; — no  more  than  a  constable  or  collector  can  justify 
the  taking  of  property  for  non-payment  of  taxes,  when  he  has 
received  no  warrant  from  the  assessors  to  collect  them ; — no 
more  than  a  judge,  who,  without  a  commission  from  the  execu- 
tive in  conformity  with  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the  land, 
has  usurped  the  bench,  can,  with  impunity,  pronounce  sentence 
of  imprisonment  or  of  death  against  an  offender  arraigned  at 
his  bar.  As,  in  the  above  cases,  the  sheriff"  cannot  justify  him- 
self by  pleading,  that  the  subject  of  his  arrest  was  obnoxious 


78 

to  punishment ;  nor  the  collector,  that  the  man  whose  property 
he  has  taken  was  liable  for  taxes ;  nor  the  judge,  that  the  per- 
son arraigned  had  committed  offences  worthy  of  imprisonment 
or  execution  ;  so,  it  is  said,  the  teacher  cannot  show,  in  his 
defence,  that  the  pupil  whom  he  has  punished  had  been  guilty 
of  misconduct.  The  pretended  teacher  is  not  a  teacher.  It 
would  be  of  the  worst  possible  tendency  to  allow  any  man  to 
derive  lawful  authority  from  the  commission  of  an  unlawful 
act.  Public  policy  requires  that  a  teacher,  who  has  obtruded 
himself  into  a  school  without  the  necessary  credentials,  should 
be  peremptorily  debarred  from  pleadmg  his  own  misconduct  in 
justification  of  an  act,  which,  if  committed  out  of  a  school, 
would  doubtless  be  unlawful.  How  can  a  teacher  commend 
or  enforce  his  own  laws,  for  the  well-ordering  of  the  school, 
when  his  being  where  he  is,  and  doing  what  he  does,  is  a  per- 
petual violation  and  contempt  of  the  law  of  the  Common- 
wealth ?  Such  is  the  course  of  argument  usually  presented, 
against  the  right  of  a  teacher  to  punish,  who  has  received  no 
certificate  of  qualification  from  the  committee. 

On  the  other  hand,  some  incline  to  the  opinion  that  a  teacher, 
without  a  certificate,  though  not,  m  law,  a  teacher,  yet  is  so, 
in  fact ;  and  that,  while  the  actual  relation  of  teacher  and 
pupil  subsists,  all  the  legal  powers  of  a  teacher  attach  to  this 
relation,  and  may  therefore  be  exercised  by  him.  If  a  school 
kept  by  a  teacher,  without  a  certificate,  is  not  a  Public  School, 
then  it  must  be  a  private  school ;  and  the  teacher  of  a  private 
school  has  as  clear  a  legal  right  to  inflict  punishment,  in  exi- 
gencies that  require  it,  as  any  other  teacher,  or  as  any  parent. 
Every  parent  who  sends  his  child  to  a  private  school,  is  pre- 
sumed, by  that  very  act,  to  transfer  so  much  of  his  authority 
to  the  teacher,  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  good  government 
of  that  child ;  and  if  a  school,  otherwise  public,  becomes  a 
private  school,  because  the  teacher  has  no  certificate,  then 
every  parent  is  to  be  presumed,  in  the  same  way,  to  transfer  to 
the  teacher  so  much  of  his  authority  as  may  be  necessary  to 
keep  his  child  or  children  in  order.  It  is  maintained,  too,  that 
the  right  grows  out  of  the  relation,  independently  of  any  idea 
of  transfer.     Such  is  the  course  of  argument  on  the  other  side. 


79 

The  reply  to  this  argument  admits  the  correctness  of  its 
positions  in  regard  to  the  rights  and  powers  of  a  private  school 
teacher ;  but  it  avers  that  every  person  who  sends  a  child  to  a 
Public  School,  has  a  right  to  suppose,  and  is  bound  to  suppose, 
that  it  is  a  legally  constituted  Public  School,  and  is  kept  by  a 
legally  qualified  teacher ;  and,  therefore,  that  he  is  not  to  be 
subjected  to  any  of  the  legal  presumptions  or  conditions  that 
appertain  to  the  relation  between  a  parent  and  a  private  school 
teacher. 

Without  giving  any  opinion  upon  this  debatable  point,  I 
would  express  an  earnest  hope,  that  a  compliance  with  the  law 
by  all  teachers  may  prevent  so  unpleasant  a  question  from  ever 
being  litigated  in  our  courts. 

141.  The  laws  of  the  state  of  Maine,  besides  annulling  the 
right  of  a  teacher  without  a  certificate  to  recover  any  compen- 
sation for  his  or  her  services,  enact  that  every  such  teacher 
shall  forfeit  and  pay  a  sum,  not  exceeding  the  sum  agreed  upon 
for  his  or  her  daily  wages,  for  each  day  he  or  she  shall  so  teach 
such  school. 

Such  a  law  would  be  very  salutary  in  Massachusetts.  It 
would  save  committees  a  vast  amount  of  trouble  and  perplex- 
ity, and  greatly  improve  the  character  of  our  schools,  by  ex- 
cluding those  interlopers,  who  are  afraid  to  go  before  a  com- 
mittee for  examination,  but  are  not  afraid  to  violate  a  law  of 
the  Commonwealth. 

142.  A  certificate  given  by  a  committee  in  one  town,  has  no 
legal  validity  in  any  other  town. 

143.  A  committee  cannot  give  a  certificate  to  continue  in 
force  for  more  than  a  year  after  its  date  ;  they  can  neither  post- 
date nor  antedate  a  certificate.  The  better  opinion  seems  to  be, 
that  they  cannot  give  a  certificate  which  will  survive  or  outlast 
their  own  official  term,  (See  Jackson  v.  Hampden,  20  Maine 
Rep.  37,)  although  to  this  limitation  there  may  be  excepted 
cases,  arising  under  the  charters  of  cities. 

144.  The  committee  may,  and  generally  should,  designate 
the  school  or  schools,  and  the  term  or  terms,  for  which  they 
declare  a  candidate  to  be  qualified ;  for,  where  there  is  a  gra- 
dation of  schools,  a  teacher  may  be  well  qualified  to  keep  one 


80 

school,  and  not  another  ;  or  to  keep  a  summer  term,  and  not  a 
winter  term. 

145.  4th.  Good  Behavior.  In  addition  to  good  morals  and 
literary  attainments,  the  law  requires  that  every  teacher  shall 
be  competent  to  teach  "Good  Behavior."  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23, 
«^  1.  Unfortunately,  conduct  scrupulously  upright  and  exem- 
plary, and  acquisitions  extensive  and  profomid,  are  not  always 
accompanied  by  gentlemanly  or  lady-like  demeanor ;  or,  in 
other  words,  observation  assures  us,  that  awkward,  rude,  or 
grotesque  manners,  and  personal  habits  uncleanly  and  even  dis- 
gusting, are  sometimes  found  in  the  company  of  spotless  integ- 
rity and  various  knowledge.  But  it  should  not  be  so.  We 
feel  a  painful  sense  of  incongruity  when  it  is  so.  Our  children 
should  be  saved,  not  only  from  the  contaminations  of  immoral- 
ity, but  from  the  contagion  of  coarse  manners.  Before  the 
habits  of  youth  are  formed,  they  are  as  easily  formed  to  civility 
and  decorum  as  to  rudeness  and  vulgarity ;  or,  if  they  are  not 
as  easily  moulded  to  the  former  as  to  the  latter,  then  the  need 
of  good  breeding,  in  order  to  make  up  this  difference  in  natural 
tendency,  becomes  so  much  the  more  urgent.  If  preposses- 
sions for  uncouth  and  inelegant  manners  are  once  formed  in 
the  minds  of  children,  or  natural  aptitudes  for  what  is  low  and 
unseemly  once  developed,  they  will  remain  a  part  of  their  con- 
stitution forever.  Subsequent  opportunities  and  efforts  may 
relieve  and  partially  conceal  their  grossness ;  yet,  like  the  inner 
layers  of  a  tree  which  has  been  diseased  in  its  youth,  though 
the  health  and  vigor  of  a  hundred  subsequent  years  may  cover 
them  over  with  a  hundred  circles  of  beautiful  fibre,  the  un- 
somidncss  within  will  remain  forever. 

If  the  framers  of  this  provision  of  the  law  comprehended 
its  full  meaning  and  significance,  they  were  indeed  sagacious. 
Manners  easily  and  rapidly  mature  into  morals.  As  childhood 
advances  to  manhood,  the  transition  from  bad  manners  to  bad 
morals  is  almost  imperceptible.  Vulgar  and  obscene  forms  of 
speech  keep  vulgar  and  obscene  objects  before  the  mind,  en- 
gender impure  images  in  the  imagination,  and  make  unlawful 
desires  prurient.     From  the  prevalent  state  of  the  mind,  actions 


81 

proceed  as  water  rises  from  a  fountain.  Hence,  what  was  orig- 
inally only  a  word  or  a  phrase,  becomes  a  thought,  is  mere- 
triciously embellished  by  the  imagination,  is  inflamed  into  a 
vicious  desire,  gains  strength  and  boldness  by  being  always 
made  welcome,  until  at  last,  under  some  urgent  temptation,  it 
dares,  for  once,  to  put  on  the  visible  form  of  action ;  it  is  then 
ventured  upon  again  and  again,  more  frequently  and  less 
warily,  until  repetition  forges  the  chains  of  habit ;  and  then 
language,  imagination,  desire,  and  habit  bind  their  victim  in 
the  prison-house  of  sin.  In  this  way,  profane  language  wears 
away  a  reverence  for  things  sacred  and  holy ;  and  a  child,  who 
has  been  allowed  to  follow,  and  mock,  and  hoot  at  an  intem- 
perate man  in  the  streets,  is  far  more  likely  to  become  intem- 
perate himself,  than  if  he  had  been  accustomed  to  regard  him 
with  pity,  as  a  fallen  brother,  and  with  a  sacred  abhorrence,  as 
one  self-brutified  or  demonized.  So,  on  the  other  hand,  purity 
and  chasteness  of  language  tend  to  preserve  purity  and  chaste- 
ness  of  thought  and  of  taste  ;  they  repel  licentious  imaginings  ; 
they  delight  in  the  unsullied  and  the  untainted,  and  all  their 
tendencies  and  aptitudes  are  on  the  side  of  virtue.  Excepting 
prior-formed  habits,  habit  can  overcome  anything  but  instinct, 
and  can  greatly  modify  even  that.  j  ,j^  A^ 

There  is  another  consideration  which  shows  not  only  the 
importance,  but  the  indispensableness,  of  "good  behavior,"  as  a 
means  of  advancing  the  civilization  of  the  race.  Superstition, 
ignorance,  cruelty,  poverty,  do  not  make  up  our  entire  con- 
ception of  barbarism.  We  include  in  this  idea,  not  only  great 
enormities,  but  all  minor  offences  against  modesty,  civility,  and 
decorum.  The  flagitious  deeds  even  of  savages  are  committed 
with  long  intervals  between, —  as  it  were  upon  the  holidays  of 
license  or  revenge ;  but  their  personal  manners  fill  up  all  the 
intercourse  of  life, —  a  continual  grit  in  the  daily  bread  of  exist- 
ence. Now,  a  people  cannot  pass  from  a  state  of  barbarism  to 
one  of  refinement  and  civilization  without  casting  off"  this  ex- 
terior of  rude  and  rugged  manners,  as  well  as  by  becoming  skilful 
in  the  arts  and  learned  in  the  sciences.  This  change,  from  the 
coarse  to  the  refined,  is  supposed  to  have  first  taken  place  in 
cities  and  in  the  courts  of  kings.  From  cities  and  from  courts 
11 


82 

are  derived  almost  all  the  words  which  we  now  use  to  express 
the  manners  of  a  lady  or  a  gentleman ;  while  the  words  which 
express  inelegance,  or  want  of  refinement,  are  borrowed  from 
the  country.  Etymologically,  the  words  urbane  and  urbanity 
are  derived  from  a  Latin  word  signifying  a  city  ;  while  their 
opposites,  rustic  and  rusticity,  signify  qualities  which  were  sup- 
posed to  belong  to  the  country.  The  word  polite  also  has  a 
derivation  precisely  similar,  though  it  comes  from  another  lan- 
guage ;  while  ifnpolite  means  something  unlike  the  city.  Civ- 
ility, in  the  same  way,  is  an  abstract  term,  derived  from  the 
manners  of  city  residents ;  incivility,  from  those  who  resided 
elsewhere.  So  courtesy  was  borrowed  from  the  court,  and  in- 
dicates the  elegance  of  manners,  the  complaisance  and  the 
kindness  which  belong  to  a  true  gentleman  or  lady. 

But  since  the  signification  and  use  of  these  and  similar 
words  have  become  fixed,  great  changes  have  taken  place. 
On  the  one  hand,  refinement  has  often  run  into  a  hateful  fas- 
tidiousness, while  the  spirit  of  true  politeness  and  civility  has 
evaporated,  leaving  nothing  but  heartless  conventionalism  be- 
hind ;  and,  as  a  natural  consequence,  an  adherence  to  certain 
arbitrary  forms  in  the  intercourse  of  life,  has  been  deemed  of 
more  value  than  benevolence  and  sincerity.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  condition  of  the  masses  has  been  greatly  improved. 
In  many  nations  they  have  been  elevated  from  the  state  of 
serfs  and  slaves  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  few  natural  and  civil 
rights,  and  occasionally  they  have  been  allowed  to  exercise 
political  franchises.  In  our  own  country,  the  whole  people, 
by  a  single  revolutionary  act,  have  declared  themselves  to  be 
freemen  and  sovereigns; — as  freemen,  repudiating  all  foreign 
authority,  and  as  sovereigns,  assuming  the  exclusive  right  to 
govern  themselves.  If,  then,  Avith  us,  every  man  calls  himself 
a  citizen,  his  conduct  should  be  characterized  by  civility ;  and 
if  all  the  people,  by  virtue  of  their  political  franchises,  are 
sovereigns,  and  have  a  right  of  presentation  at  court,  the  man- 
ners of  all  shoidd  be  stamped  with  courtesy. 

And  yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  in  a  life  of  unintermitting 
manual  toil,  there  is  something  adverse  to  the  cultivation  of 
refined  manners,  of  elegant  tastes,  and  of  that  ease  and  grace 


83 

of  demeanor,  which  are  the  appropriate  expression  of  well- 
trained  kindness  and  benevolence.  The  general  idea  of  man- 
ual labor  includes,  of  course,  all  the  various  occupations  and 
forms  of  employment,  which  the  present  highly  artificial  de- 
mands of  society  have  originated.  Though  but  very  few  of 
these  employments  are  incompatible  with  cleanliness  both  of 
dress  and  person,  yet,  almost  without  exception,  they  tempt 
the  laborer  to  forego  this  elementary  or  constituent  part  of 
"good  behavior."  If  the  laborer  be  in  straitened  circum- 
stances, he  feels  compelled  to  live  in  a  tenement  so  small  as  to 
endanger  those  decencies  which  domestic  life  should  cultivate, 
and  grievously  to  encroach  upon,  if  not  to  destroy,  those  deli- 
cate attentions  or  forbearances,  which  each  sex  owes  to  the 
other.  If  pressed  for  time,  he  is  tempted  to  take  his  meals 
with  indecent  haste  ; — he  is  prone,  on  these  oft-returning  occa- 
sions, to  cast  off  the  restraints  of  propriety,  and,  in  the  eager 
indulgence  of  his  own  appetite,  to  forget  the  wants  or  the 
rights  of  others.  If  surrounded  by  children,  the  importunate 
demands  of  nature,  clamoring  for  the  means  of  subsistence, 
force  every  thing  else  to  give  way.  Should  poverty,  with  its 
cruel  restrictions,  invade  the  family,  should  its  daily  wants 
exceed  its  supplies,  the  selfishness  of  each  of  its  members  is 
brought  into  vigorous  action.  A  hungry  child,  watching  for 
his  share  of  bread  at  the  table,  a  cold  one  for  his  place  at  the 
fire,  or  for  his  portion  of  the  scanty  covering  of  the  bed,  is  in 
a  most  untoward  condition  for  the  cultivation  of  kindness  and 
generosity.  And  what,  under  such  hostile  circumstances,  can 
the  maternal  head  of  the  family  do,  to  tame  the  wild  energy 
of  natural  impulses,  and  to  domesticate  the  virtues  of  gentle- 
ness and  afl'ection.  of  deference  for  the  rights  of  others,  and  of 
forbearance  in  the  assertion  of  one's  own  ?  How  grievously 
must  all  these  difficulties  be  aggravated,  when  sickness  invades 
the  humble  dwelling,  and  subtracts  greatly  from  the  resources, 
which  are  already  too  scanty  for  the  wants  of  its  inmates  ! 
Yet  it  is  under  circumstances  at  least  similar  to  these,  if  not 
identical  with  them,  that  a  portion  of  our  children  are  reared. 

Take  many  retired  spots  in  the  country  where  the  popula- 
tion is  sparse  ;  where  each  family  depends  mainly  for  its  sub- 


84 

sistence  upon  the  productions  of  a  small  farm  and  upon  house- 
hold industry  ;  where  the  children  are  born,  and  where  they 
live  until  the  years  of  majority,  far  away  from  the  great  thor- 
oughfares of  the  world,  rarely,  if  ever,  going  beyond  the  neigh- 
boring hills  ;  and  how  few  of  them,  comparatively  speaking, 
during  all  the  forming  years  of  childhood  and  youth,  ever 
enjoy  the  opportunity  of  a  single  hour's  conversation  or  inter- 
course with  any  refined  and  educated  man  or  woman ; — with 
any  one  whose  manners  are  a  model  for  imitation  ;  whose  con- 
versation is  instructive  and  captivating  ;  who  always  seeks  for 
useful  topics  of  remark,  and  never  seeks  in  vain ;  whose  lan- 
guage is  pure  and  copious  ;  whose  dress  and  address  are  comely, 
appropriate,  and  dignified  ;  and  who  exhibits,  in  all  his  words, 
and  tones,  and  gestures,  that  vast  difference,  so  difficult  to  be 
described,  and  yet  so  impossible  to  be  unnoticed,  which  marks 
the  distinction  between  a  gentleman  and  a  clown ! 

The  members  of  the  three  learned  professions,  as  they  are 
called,  are  supposed  to  have  enjoyed  better  opportunities  for 
obtaining  intelligence,  and  for  acquiring  polished  manners  and 
courteous  habits,  than  any  other  class  of  our  people.  Almost 
without  exception,  they  have  enjoyed  a  collegiate  education, 
and  have  had  opportunities  to  move  in  refined  and  educated 
circles ;  and  there  is  scarcely  a  town  in  the  Commonwealth, 
where  there  is  not  a  clergyman,  a  lawyer,  or  a  physician,  who 
is  an  educated  man.  In  the  great  majority  of  our  towns,  there 
are  several  members,  of  one  or  another  of  the  professions,  who 
come  within  this  description.  But  how  infrequent  is  the  in- 
tercourse of  either  of  these  classes  with  the  mass  of  the  peo- 
ple, as  they  are  scattered  about  in  their  farmhouses  and  their 
workshops !  The  clergyman  may  make  it  a  point  of  duty  to 
visit  the  families  belonging  to  his  parish,  at  least  once  a  year ; 
but  how  little  effect  can  such  an  annual  and  perhaps  hasty 
visit  have  in  the  formation  of  the  tastes  or  the  manners  of 
children  !  Physicians  rarely  visit  the  houses  of  their  towns- 
men, except  on  the  occasion  of  sickness, — that  is,  at  times  of 
some  degree,  at  least,  of  peril  and  alarm,  and  when  even  the 
rules  and  forms  of  civility,  which  men  are  wont  to  observe  in 
their  common  intercourse  with  each  other,  are  liable  to  be  sus- 


85 

pended,  amid  the  intrusive  demands  or  fears  of  the  hour.  Still 
more  seldom,  perhaps,  does  a  lawyer  visit  the  private  dwelling 
of  the  laborer,  unless  it  be  for  the  performance  of  some  pro- 
fessional duty, — to  take  the  deposition  of  a  sick  man,  or  to 
make  the  will  of  a  dying  one,  or  to  superintend  the  legal 
transfer  of  property,  when  a  family  is  broken  up  and  dispersed 
by  the  cruel  fate  of  an  insolvency.  In  populous  towns,  there 
may  be,  it  is  true,  a  few  others,  who  do  something  towards 
giving  expression  and  authority  to  the  usages  of  refined  life. 
There  are  a  few  of  the  wealthy  and  the  educated,  who  are  ex- 
empt from  the  necessity  even  of  professional  labor,  who  devote 
themselves  to  literature  and  to  a  study  of  the  works  of  art,  and 
who  have  the  resources  and  the  leisure  for  commanding  the 
objects  and  for  indulging  the  pleasures  of  an  imagination 
formed  to  the  study  and  the  appreciation  of  classic  elegance. 
But,  generally  speaking,  this  class  of  persons,  so  far  from  ming- 
ling with  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  exciting  a  desire  for 
more  polished  manners,  through  a  sympathy  with  the  moral 
qualities  of  their  possessors,  almost  invariably  gather  them- 
selves into  a  clan, — surrounding  themselves  with  a  partition- 
wall,  high  and  thick,  that  they  may  shut  out  the  offensiveness 
of  the  plebeian  gaze,  and  bar  out  the  contamination  of  a  ple- 
beian foot. 

With  children  circumstanced  as  above  supposed,  born  of 
illiterate  parents,  surrounded  by  neighbors  as  rustic  as  them- 
selves, and  having  no  opportunity  for  companionship  or  ac- 
quaintance with  well-bred  people,  why  is  it  not  inevitable, 
under  all  the  existing  arrangements  of  society,  save  one; — 
why  is  it  not  inevitable,  that  they  should  grow  up  without 
those  restraints  upon  their  feelings  which  decorum  imposes, 
with  offensive  provincialisms  or  vulgarities  in  then*  speech, 
with  habits  of  pronunciation  uncouth  and  contrary  to  all  the 
usages  of  good  speakers,  with  voice  and  gesture  untrained, 
and  perhaps  with  ridiculous  oddities  of  manner  ?  In  the  by- 
ways and  crowded  streets  of  a  city,  where  poverty  casts  its 
victims  into  heaps,  and  stows  them  away  in  cellars  and  gar- 
rets, the  condition  of  the  children  is  even  worse  than  in  the 
most  obscure  and  secluded  portions  of  the  country.     Here  it 


86 

often  happens  that  the  surface  disease  of  coarse  and  untamed 
manners  is  aggravated  and  made  virulent  by  moral  distempers 
within. 

Now,  to  meet  a  great  exigency  of  civilization  ;  to  save  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  rising  generation  from  falling  back 
into  the  condition  of  half-barbarous  or  of  savage  life,  what 
other  instrumentality  does  society  afford,  than  to  send,  into 
every  obscure  and  hidden  district  in  the  State,  a  young  man  or 
a  young  woman  whose  education  is  sound,  whose  language  is 
well  selected,  whose  pronunciation  and  tones  of  voice  are  cor- 
rect and  attractive,  whose  manners  are  gentle  and  refined,  all 
whose  topics  of  conversation  are  elevating  and  instructive, 
whose  benignity  of  heart  is  constantly  manifested  in  acts  of 
civility,  courtesy,  and  kindness,  and  who  spreads  a  nameless 
charm  over  whatever  circle  may  be  entered  ?  Such  a  person 
should  the  teacher  of  every  Common  School  be.  Such  a 
teacher,  by  associating  with  the  children  of  the  school  for  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  time  each  day  ;  by  remaining  with 
them  for  weeks  and  months  successively ;  by  having  an  oppor- 
tunity to  observe  their  conduct  towards  each  other,  and  thus 
to  become  acquainted  with  their  various  dispositions ;  by  gain- 
ing access  to  their  minds  through  the  delightful  medium  of 
instruction;  and,  finally,  by  prolonging  this  relationship  through 
all  the  susceptive  and  impressible  years  of  childhood  and 
youth, — such  a  teacher,  so  far  as  it  may  be  in  the  power  of 
any  mortal  agency  to  do  it,  may  mould  the  habits  and  manners 
of  the  rising  generation  into  the  pleasing  forms  of  propriety 
and  decorum,  and,  by  laying  their  foundations  in  the  princi- 
ples of  justice,  magnanimity,  and  affection,  may  give  them  an 
ever-during  permanence. 

146.  Notwithstanding  all  the  guards  and  precautions  of  an 
examination,  it  may  still  happen  that  a  teacher,  having  the 
certificate  of  the  committee  in  his  pocket,  may  be  found,  on 
trial,  unfit  to  keep  a  school ;  or,  at  least,  to  keep  the  particular 
school  for  which  he  was  approved.  This  may  happen,  either 
through  some  inherent  quality  of  disposition  or  of  tempera- 
ment, not  revealed  by  the  examination,  or  from  some  change 
of  views  or  of  purposes  arising  subsequently  to  it.     To  meet 


87 

this  class  of  cases,  the  law  has  wisely  empowered  the  school 
committee  of  each  town  "  to  dismiss  from  employment  any 
teacher  in  sncli  town,  whenever  the  said  committee  may  think 
proper."  St.  1844,  ch.  32.  The  teacher's  wages  cease  from 
the  time  of  his  dismission.  lb.  This  has  proved  a  terrible 
law  to  incompetent  teachers. 

DUTY  OF  THE  TOWN  COMMITTEE  TO  PROVIDE  A  SCHOOL  WHEN 
THE  PRUDENTIAL  COMMITTEE  FAILS  TO  DO  SO. 

Two  provisions  of  the  law  may  here  be  mentioned,  which 
perhaps  have  not  been  brought  out  with  sufficient  distinctness 
under  an  appropriate  head. 

147.  If,  through  any  refusal  or  neglect,  a  prudential  com- 
mittee man  be  not  chosen  for  a  district,  or  if  any  one,  who 
has  been  chosen,  neglects  or  declines  to  serve,  or  expressly 
resigns,  or  becomes  incapable  of  resigning  through  disease  or 
insanity,  and  the  vacancy  be  not  filled, — then  all  the  duties  of 
the  prudential  committee  of  such  a  district  devolve  upon  the 
town's  committee.  They  are  to  see  that  there  is  a  suitable 
place  in  which  the  school  may  be  kept,  and  that  all  suitable 
furniture  be  provided  for  it.  These  provisions  are  to  be  made 
at  the  expense  of  the  district,  and,  for  these  purposes,  the  com- 
mittee have  the  credit  of  the  district  at  their  command ;  that 
is,  they  may  incur  whatever  expense  may  be  necessary,  and 
the  district  is  liable  to  pay  it.  In  such  a  case,  too,  notwith- 
standing the  town  has  voted  that  the  prudential  committees  of 
the  respective  districts  shall  select  and  contract  with  their  own 
teachers,  it  will  be  the  duty  of  the  town's  committee  to  select 
and  contract  with  a  teacher,  to  make  arrangements  for  his 
board,  and  to  provide  fuel  for  the  school.  The  expenses  of 
board  and  fuel  may  be  defrayed  from  the  district's  distributive 
share  of  the  money  raised  by  the  town. 

In  a  word,  in  all  cases  where  no  prudential  committee  man 
is  chosen,  or  where,  from  any  cause,  he  does  not  act,  the  town 
committees  are  not  only  to  discharge  their  own  proper  duties, 
but  those  of  the  prudential  committee  also.  The  expenses 
must  be  borne  by  the  same  parties  as  before.  The  intent  of 
the  law  evidently  is,  to  prevent  the  neglect  or  perverseness  of 


88 

any  district  committee  from  working  a  forfeiture  of  the  chil- 
dren's school  privileges.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  *§>  45. 

148.  It  may  sometimes  be  a  difficult  question  to  be  deter- 
mined, at  U'hat  time  the  duties  of  a  prudential  committee,  in 
making  provision  for  a  school,  are  transferred  to  the  town's  com- 
mittee. The  only  tangible  rule  seems  to  be  this  ; — there  must 
have  been  a  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  district,  or  of  its  pru- 
dential committee ;  and  then  the  town's  committee  must  pro- 
ceed to  repair  the  consequences  of  that  neglect,  sufficiently 
early  to  allow  the  school  to  be  kept  its  full  term  of  time,  dur- 
ing the  customary  or  appropriate  season  of  the  year.  For 
instance,  if  the  district  draws  a  sum  of  money  from  the  town 
sufficient  to  keep  a  summer  school  for  four  months,  and  if 
custom,  convenience,  and  good  policy  point  to  the  first  of 
October  as  the  most  eligible  period  for  closing  the  summer 
school,  then  the  town's  committee  must  see  that  a  school  be 
commenced  in  the  district  early  in  the  month  of  June.  There 
is  no  interim,  or  point  of  time,  when  the  legal  power  to  make 
provision  for  the  school  does  not  exist  somewhere.  It  exists 
in  the  district,  or  in  the  prudential  committee,  until  they  forfeit 
it  by  non-performance  of  duty ;  and,  at  the  moment  of  for- 
feiture, it  is  transferred  to  the  town's  committee.  Nor  can  the 
power  exist  in  both  parties  at  the  same  time.  When  the  town 
committee  have  lawfully  assumed  its  exercise,  in  regard  to  a 
particular  school,  the  prudential  committee  cannot  reclaim  it. 

149.  It  is  supposed  that  the  town's  committee  are  entitled 
to  the  same  compensation  for  this  class  of  services  as  for  any 
other  which  the  law  imposes  upon  them. 

DUTY    OF    THE    TOWn's     COMMITTEE    IN    REGARD    TO    SCHOOLS    KEPT 
FOR    THE    BENEFIT    OF    ALL    THE    INHABITANTS    OF    THE    TOWN. 

The  other  provision,  above  referred  to,  relates  to  the  schools 
which  are  established  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town. 

150.  It  will  be  recollected  that  every  town  containing  five 
hundred  families,  or  householders,  is  required  to  keep  a  school 
of  a  higher  grade,  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town.     Rev.  St.,  ch.   23,  *§.  5.     This  class  of  schools  way  be 


89 

kept  by  any   town.      Cushing  v,  Newhuryport,   10  Metcalfs 
Rep.  508. 

151.  In  regard  to  the  above  class  of  schools, — viz.,  those 
kept  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town, — the 
town's  committee  are  required  to  make  all  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements, and  to  perform  all  the  duties,  which  the  prudential 
committees  are  required  to  do  for  district  schools.  In  regard  to 
this  class  of  schools,  no  provision  exists  for  the  choice,  in  any 
case,  of  a  prudential  committee.  In  addition  to  the  general 
duty  of  supervision,  all  the  duties  belonging  to  the  prudential 
committees  of  districts,  in  regard  to  district  schools,  belong  to 
the  town's  committee  in  regard  to  this  class  of  schools. 

152.  The  school  committee  are  to  determine  the  number 
and  qualifications  of  the  scholars  to  be  admitted  into  the  school 
kept  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  town.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§. 
15.  See  ante,  (19,)  and  post,  "  Visitation  of  Schools,''^  and 
''  School  Books:' 

If  all  the  preceding  legal  requirements  have  been  observed, 
then  a  suitable  schoolhouse  has  been  provided  and  furnished, 
and  a  teacher  has  been  examined  and  rightfully  installed  over, 
the  school.     The  business  of  instruction  is  now  to  begin. 

VISITATION    OF    SCHOOLS. 

Here  a  new  order  of  duties  opens  upon  the  school  commit- 
tee. One  class  of  these  duties, — that  of  visiting  the  schools, — 
is  specifically  pointed  out  by  the  law  ;  other  duties  are  too 
various  and  indefinable  to  be  the  subject  of  statutory  enumera- 
tion. 

153.  The  duty  of  visiting  all  the  district  and  town  schools 
not  less  than  a  certain  number  of  times,  depending  in  each 
case  upon  the  length  of  the  school,  is  expressly  enjoined  upon 
the  committee. 

In  regard  to  schools  kept  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  town,  the  committee  must  visit  them  at  least 
"quarter  yearly."  Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  *§.  15.  At  the  "quarter 
yearly"  visitations,  the  committee  are  required  to  make  a  care- 
ful examination  of  the  school,  and  to  ascertain  whether  the 
scholars  are  supplied  with  books  ;  they  must  also  inquire  into 
12 


90 

the  regulation  and  discipline  of  the  school,  and  the  hahits  and 
proficiency  of  the  scholars  therein.     lb. 

154.  In  regard  to  district  schools,  the  committee,  or  some 
one  or  more  of  them,  are  to  visit  each  school  in  the  town  on 
some  day  during  the  first  or  second  week  after  it  is  opened ; 
and  also  on  some  day  during  the  two  weeks  preceding  its  close. 
Respecting  these  two  visits,  the  law  is  silent  on  the  point  of 
giving  previous  notice  of  the  visit,  and  it  is  therefore  discre- 
tionary with  the  committee,  whether  to  give  such  notice  or  not. 
lb.  '^  16.     In  practice,  the  notice  is  usually  given. 

1.55.  In  addition  to  the  two  special  visits  above  named,  the 
committee,  or  some  one  or  more  of  them,  are  to  visit  "all  the 
schools  kept  by  the  town,"  once  a  month,  Avithout  giving  pre- 
vious notice  thereof.  lb.  Hence  there  must  be,  in  each  term, 
two  more  visits  than  the  number  of  months  during  which  the 
school  is  kept. 

156.  It  has  been  sometimes  contended,  in  regard  to  district 
schools,  that  the  law  requires  but  two  visits  to  each,  —  one  near 
the  opening  and  the  other  towards  the  close, — and  that  the 
provision  Avhich  requires  the  committee  to  visit  "  all  the  schools 
kept  by  the  town,"  once  a  month,  without  giving  previous 
notice,  refers  to  those  schools  of  a  higher  grade  which  are  to 
be  kept,  in  the  language  of  the  law,  "for  the  benefit  of  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town." 

That  such  a  construction  is  erroneous,  it  is  believed  will  suf- 
ficiently appear,  from  two  considerations. 

1st.  In  the  section  which  provides  for  the  visitation  of  the 
schools  kept  "for  the  benefit  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town,"  the  number  of  visits  enjoined  is  explicitly  given.  They 
are  to  be  "at  least  quarter  yearly."  After  having  thus  expressly 
stated,  in  one  section,  the  number  of  visits  to  be  made  by  the 
committee  to  this  class  of  schools,  it  is  hardly  conceivable,  that 
the  statute  would  go  on,  in  the  next  section,  to  say  that  the 
visits  to  the  same  schools  shall  be  monthly. 

2d.  There  are  many  towns  in  the  State  not  districted.  If 
the  law  had  required  the  monthly  visits  to  be  made  to  district 
schools  only,  it  might  possibly  have  been  contended,  that  it  did 
not  apply  to  schools  in  towns  not  districted  ;  but  by  requirijig 


91 

that  "all  the  schools  kept  by  the  town"  should  be  visited  once 
a  month,  it  doubtless  embraced  all  the  schools,  whether  the 
town  should  be  districted  or  not,  except  the  particular  class  of 
schools  which  had  been  before  provided  for. 

157.  The  law  prescribes  the  minimum  of  visits  ;  it  does  not 
prohibit  the  committee  from  making  more  than  the  specified 
number,  when,  in  their  discretion,  the  good  of  the  school  re- 
quires it. 

At  these  visits,  the  whole  condition  of  the  school  is  to  be  in- 
quired into.  The  order  and  proficiency  of  the  scholars ;  the 
course  of  instruction  and  discipline  ;  the  sufficiency  of  school 
books,  whether  as  to  number  or  kind  ;  the  classification  of  the 
scholars  ;  the  fitness  of  the  studies  pursued  ; "  and,  indeed,  all 
the  elements  are  to  be  thoroughly  investigated,  which,  in  their 
combination,  make  up  a  school's  prosperity.  At  the  first  visit- 
ation, the  committee  will  naturally  desire  to  learn  the  then 
present  condition  of  the  school ;  to  ascertain,  as  exactly  as  pos- 
sible, its  state  of  progress,  that  they  may  measure,  at  the  end 
of  the  term,  the  advancement  it  has  made.  They  will  observe 
the  methods  of  the  teacher,  and,  if  they  deem  it  useful,  will 
give  him,  —  i7i  private,  —  such  friendly  counsel  and  advice  as 
he  may  appear  to  need.  They  will  urge  upon  the  pupils,  by 
the  most  powerful  and  persuasive  arguments  and  incitements 
they  can  use,  the  indispensableness  to  their  highest  good  of 
regularity  and  punctuality  in  attendance,  of  diligence  and 
ardor  in  study,  of  correctness  in  deportment,  of  cheerful  and 
prompt  obedience  to  the  requirements  of  the  teacher,  and  of  a 
sacred  regard  to  duty  in  all  their  conduct.  They  will  strive  to 
incite  in  the  minds  of  the  school  an  invincible  resolution  to  be 
diligent  and  dutiful  children,  that  they  may  become  useful  and 
exemplary  men  ;  and  to  kindle  in  their  hearts  a  holy  ambition 
to  do  right,  —  though  unapplauded  by  the  world,  though  un- 
observed, though  in  obscurity  and  in  solitude, — because  it  is 
right. 

158.  During  the  period  of  visitation,  the  committee  have 
the  entire  control  of  the  school.  For  the  time  being,  it  is  their 
school,  and  the  teacher  is  their  servant.  They  may  decide 
what  classes  shall  be  called  upon  to  perform  exercises,  and  in 


92 

what  studies.  They  may  direct  the  teacher  to  conduct  the 
examination,  or  may  conduct  it  wholly  themselves,  or  they 
may  combine  both  methods.  In  fine,  they  may  dismiss  the 
teacher  for  the  hour,  and  pursue  the  examination  in  his  absence. 
All  these  prerogatives  are  supposed  to  be  indispensable  to  enable 
the  committee,  under  such  circumstances  as  have  existed,  and 
may  possibly  exist  again,  to  ascertain  the  true  condition  of  a 
school,  and,  therefore,  they  are  necessarily  incident  to  the  office 
of  an  examining  committee.  Should  any  scholar  misbehave 
himself,  or  prove  refractory  or  contumacious  to  the  committee, 
while  they  are  engaged  in  examining  the  school,  it  is  presumed 
they  have  authority  to  suspend,  to  expel,  or  to  punish  on  the 
spot,  in  the  same  way  that  the  teacher  may  do  in  case  of  like 
misconduct  committed  against  himself.  To  the  honor,  how- 
ever, of  the  schools  of  Massachusetts,  it  should  be  said,  that 
not  more  than  two  or  three  instances  of  such  an  exigency  have 
come  to  my  knowledge  within  the  last  twelve  years. 

The  examination  of  teachers  and  of  scholars  constitutes  an 
unerring  index  of  the  condition  of  any  system  of  schools.  As 
these  are  thorough  or  ceremonial,  the  schools  will  rise  to  the 
zenith  of  prosperity  and  usefulness,  or  sink  to  the  nadir  of 
worthlessness  and  banefulness. 

159.  Although  the  school  committees,  throughout  the  State, 
(with  a  very  few  special  exceptions  in  the  cities,)  are  chosen  at 
an  annual  town  meeting  held  in  the  month  of  February,  March, 
or  April,  yet,  for  the  single  purpose  of  completing  their  official 
business  for  the  year,  they  retain  their  offices,  notwithstanding 
successors  have  been  chosen.     St.  1846,  ch.  223,  >§.  1. 

160.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  school  committee  of  each  year  to 
visit  the  winter  schools  at  their  close,  and,  after  they  have 
closed,  to  make  a  return  of  all  such  particulars  in  their  con- 
dition as  are  indicated  by  the  blank  Form  of  Inquiry,  pre- 
pared by  the  Board.  (See  post^  under  the  head  ^^Itiquiries 
and  Returns^)  But  the  winter  schools  may  not  close  until 
after  the  annual  meeting  at  which  the  school  committee  are 
chosen.  Were  the  newly  elected  committee  to  succeed  to  all 
the  duties  pertaining  to  the  office,  as  soon  as  they  have  been 
elected,  they  would  be  required,  in  many  instances,  to  report 


93 

upon  schools  which  they  had  never  visited,  and  of  whose  con- 
dition they  would  be  ignorant.  Hence  the  law  provides  that 
the  committee  of  the  preceding  year  shall  complete  the  work 
they  had  begun.  So  far  as  the  examination  of  new  teachers, 
and  the  visitation  of  schools  belonging  to  the  new  year,  are 
concerned,  the  newly  elected  committee  are  to  enter  upon  the 
discharge  of  their  duties  immediately  after  their  election.  lb. 
There  may  be  a  time,  therefore,  when  two  school  committees 
are  rightfully  in  office,  in  the  same  town.  But  though  two 
committees  may  exist,  they  exist  only  in  relation  to  different 
duties.     They  have  coordinate  but  not  concurrent  jurisdiction. 

SCHOOL    BOOKS. 

161.  The  law  is  peremptory  in  declaring  that  the  committee 
shall  prescribe  what  books  are  to  be  used  in  the  schools.  Rev. 
St.,  ch.  23,  <§.  17.  They  should  prepare  a  list  of  such  books  as 
they  may  deem  most  conducive  to  the  advancement  of  the 
scholars,  and  cause  a  copy  thereof  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of 
each  teacher  before  the  opening  of  the  school.  Other  means 
should  be  used  by  the  committee  to  make  known  to  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town,  or  of  the  several  districts,  what  books 
are  prescribed  for  their  respective  schools,  so  as  to  enable  each 
parent  or  guardian  to  procure,  in  season,  and  without  unneces- 
sary trouble,  the  requisite  supply.  As  far  as  the  varying  con- 
dition of  the  schools  will  allow,  the  books  should  be  the  same 
for  all  the  town  ;  but  the  committee,  so  far  from  being  debarred 
from  prescribing  different  books  for  different  schools,  would  be 
bound  to  do  so,  should  a  difference  in  their  proficiency  de- 
mand it. 

162.  The  committee  may  direct  what  books  shall  be  used  in 
the  respective  classes.  lb.  It  is  optional  with  them  to  use  this 
power  or  not.  Their  conduct  must  therefore  be  determined  by 
their  discretion.  To  prescribe  what  books  shall  be  used  in  the 
respective  classes  would  be  nearly  equivalent  to  classifying  the 
school,  and  determining  all  the  studies  to  be  pursued  therein. 
This  may  sometimes  be  expedient. 

163.  When  the  committee  have  prepared  the  list,  and  certi- 
fied the  same  to  the  teacher  and  parents,  it  is  a  virtual  exclu- 


94 

sion  of  all  other  text  books  from  the  school.  No  teacher  or 
pupil  is  at  liberty  to  substitute  any  other  therefor.  There 
would  seem  to  be  no  legal  impediment,  nor  indeed  any  reason- 
able objection,  to  making  use  of  other  books,  as  books  of  refer- 
ence,—  as  books  for  comparison  or  elucidation  merely;  but 
the  lessons  must  be  studied  in,  and  recited  from,  the  books  on 
the  committee's  list. 

164.  The  above  provisions  have  reference  to  text  books 
only, —  to  books  for  the  use  of  the  classes  or  the  teacher,  in  the 
regular  routine  of  exercises.  They  have  no  relation  to  library 
books.  The  selection  of  these  belongs  to  the  town  or  the  dis- 
trict, or  to  any  committee  to  whom  they  may  respectively  del- 
egate the  power  of  choice. 

165.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  parents,  masters,  and  guardians,  to 
furnish  the  children,  whom  they  send  to  school,  with  the  kind 
and  the  number  of  books  prescribed  for  their  use  by  the  com- 
mittee.    Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§>  18. 

166.  In  case  any  scholar  shall  not  be  furnished,  by  his  par- 
ent, master,  or  guardian,  with  the  requisite  books,  he  must  be 
supplied  therewith  by  the  school  committee.     lb.  *§.  20. 

167.  The  expense  of  supplying  books  to  scholars  who  come 
to  school  without  them,  is,  in  the  Jfirst  instance,  to  be  directly 
charged  to  the  town  by  the  committee,  lb.  But  this  expense, 
except  in  certain  specified  cases,  is  to  be  reimbursed  to  the 
town  in  the  following  manner  : — 

168.  The  school  committee  are  to  keep  an  account  of  all 
the  books  so  supplied  by  them,  with  their  prices,  and  also  an 
account  of  the  names  of  all  children  to  whom  they  were  fur- 
nished, and  of  their  parents,  masters,  or  guardians.  At  some 
convenient  and  proper  time,  after  such  supply  is  made,  the 
committee  are  to  give  notice,  in  writing,  to  the  assessors  of  the 
town,  of  the  kinds  and  the  cost  of  the  books  so  by  them  sup- 
plied, together  with  the  names  of  the  children  so  supplied,  and 
the  names  of  the  parents,  masters,  or  guardians  by  whom  the 
books  should  have  been  supplied.     lb.  <§>  21. 

169.  When  the  list  of  the  books  which  have  been  furnished 
to  the  children  shall  be  delivered  to  the  assessors,  as  above 
mentioned,  they  are,  in  the  first  place,  to  decide  whether  the 


95 

parents,  masters,  or  guardians,  whose  names  have  been  returned 
to  them,  are,  or  are  not,  pecuniarily  able  to  pay  therefor  ;  or, 
if  not  able  to  pay  for  the  whole,  then  whether  they  are  able  to 
pay  a  part  of  the  price  of  said  books,  and  what  part.  Said 
price,  or  so  much  thereof  as  the  assessors  may  adjudge  the  par- 
ents, masters,  or  guardians  of  ability  to  pay,  they  shall  add  to 
the  next  annual  tax  of  said  parents,  masters,  or  guardians,  and 
the  amount  so  added  is  then  to  be  levied,  collected,  and  paid 
into  the  town  treasury,  in  the  same  manner  as  town  taxes, 
lb.  '^'§.  21,  22.  In  this  way,  the  town  reimburses  itself  for 
such  portion  of  the  original  cost  of  the  books  furnished,  as  the 
parents,  masters,  or  guardians  of  the  children,  so  supplied,  ■  are 
able  to  pay.  The  residue  is  a  gratuity  to  the  poor,  and  is  a 
charge  upon  the  town. 

170.  The  deficiency  of  books  intended  by  the  statute  is  a 
deficiency  in  the  kinds  of  books  prescribed  by  the  committee. 
No  number  of  other  books  can  be  any  legal  substitute  for  those 
prescribed.  If  scholars  bring  other  books  instead  of  those 
enumerated  on  the  committee's  list,  they  are  still  to  be  consid- 
ered as  destitute  of  books  ;  and  they  are  to  be  supplied  by  the 
committee,  and  the  cost  charged  to  the  parents,  or  other  parties 
liable. 

171.  As  conducive  to  uniformity  in  books,  by  making  the 
kinds  which  the  committee  have  prescribed  easily  obtainable 
by  all,  the  law  authorizes  the  committee  of  each  town  to  pro- 
cure, at  the  expense  of  the  town,  or  otherwise,  a  sufficient  sup- 
ply of  class  or  text  books  for  all  the  schools  in  the  town.  Rev. 
St.,  ch.  23,  «^  19.     13  Pick.  229,  Hartwell  v.  Littleton. 

172.  If  the  committee  adopt  this  course,  they  are  required 
to  give  notice  of  the  place  where  the  books  are  deposited ;  and 
they  are  bound  to  furnish  said  books  to  all  the  scholars  belong- 
ing to  the  schools,  at  such  prices  as  will  merely  reimburse  to 
the  town  the  expense  of  the  same.  lb.  This  "expense"  must 
mean  the  original  cost  of  the  books,  all  reasonable  charges  for 
transportation,  and  commission  for  sales.  If  the  committee  are 
judicious  in  their  purchases,  this  mode  of  furnishing  school 
books  is  much  the  most  economical. 

173.  The  requisition  of  the  statute,  in  regard  to  giving 
notice  of  the  place  or  places  where  the  books  which  the  com- 


96 

mittee  have  procured  for  the  schools  may  be  obtained,  is  sub- 
stantially complied  with  by  furnishing  the  books  to  the  school 
teachers,  with  notice  to  the  schools  that  they  may  be  procured 
from  the  teachers.  13  Pick.  229,  Hartwell  v.  Littleton.  The 
committee,  however,  should  make  the  notice  as  extensive  as 
possible. 

174.  If  any  of  the  books  so  purchased  by  the  committee  re- 
main on  hand,  at  the  expiration  of  their  official  year,  a  question 
has  arisen  whether  they  should  not  be  personally  liable  there- 
for ;  and  it  is  said  that  if  the  committee  have  unlimited  power 
in  this  respect,  they  may  purchase  a  favorite  kind  of  books  in 
such  quantity  as  to  control  their  successors,  by  limiting  their 
free  choice  in  the  selection  of  books  ;  or,  as  a  necessary  conse- 
quence, subject  the  town  to  great  loss,  by  leaving  in  their  pos- 
session a  large  amount  of  unsalable  works. 

On  this  point  it  may  be  observed  that,  where  the  committee 
purchase  books  at  the  expense  of  the  town,  it  will  be  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  determine  with  exactness  how  many  will  be 
called  for.  If,  then,  they  have  acted  in  good  faith  in  making 
the  purchase,  it  would  be  an  unreasonable  hardship  to  compel 
them  to  take  any  excess  of  books  which  might  remain  on  hand 
at  the  end  of  the  year.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  a  committee 
should  ever  abuse  their  discretionary  power,  by  purchasing  an 
inordinate  quantity  of  books,  either  for  the  sake  of  enforcing, 
under  the  penalty  of  a  pecuniary  loss,  the  continuance  of  a 
favorite  book  in  the  schools,  or  for  any  other  sinister  and  repre- 
hensible end,  the  town  could  refuse  payment  of  the  bills,  and 
would  doubtless  be  sustained  by  the  courts  in  its  refusal.  A 
suspicion  of  such  a  case  has  never  arisen  in  Massachusetts, 
within  my  knowledge,  but  once. 

RELIGIOUS    LIBERTY. 

175.  The  school  committee  shall  never  direct  to  be  pur- 
chased or  used,  in  any  of  the  town  schools,  any  school  books 
which  are  calculated  to  favor  the  tenets  of  any  particular  sect 
of  Christians.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  ^  23.* 

*  See  Abstract  of  School  Returns  for  18t3-4,  "Templelon,"  for  a  case  where  a  teacher 
was  dismissed,  for  persisting  iu  liis  cflbrts  to  give  sectarian  instruction. 


97 

''  It  is  the  right,  as  well  as  the  duty,  of  all  men  in  society, 
publicly,  and  at  stated  seasons,  to  worship  the  Supreme  Being, 
the  great  Creator  and  Preserver  of  the  universe.  And  no  sub- 
ject shall  be  hurt,  molested,  or  restrained,  in  his  person,  liberty, 
or  estate,  for  worshipping  GOD  in  the  manner  and  season  most 
agreeable  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience ;  or  for  his 
religious  professions  or  sentiments,  provided  he  doth  not  dis- 
turb the  public  peace,  or  obstruct  others  in  their  religious  wor- 
ship."    Massachusetts  Declaration  of  Rights,  Art.  2. 

"All  religious  sects  and  denominations,  demeaning  them- 
selves peaceably  and  as  good  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth, 
shall  be  equally  under  the  protection  of  the  law ;  and  no  sub- 
ordination of  any  one  sect  or  denomination  to  another  shall 
ever  be  established  by  law."  Amendments  to  the  Constitution 
of  Massachusetts,  Art.  11. 

"Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof."  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  Amendm,ents,  Art.  1. 

For  other  duties  of  the  school  committees,  and  for  a  defini- 
tion of  the  times  when  their  offices  begin  and  when  they  ter- 
minate, see  post,  ^'Inquii'ies  and  Returns,"  and  ^'Committees' 
Reports." 

TEACHERS. 

176.  Before  leaving  those  provisions  which  the  law  has 
made  for  the  internal  management  and  regulation  of  the 
schools,  it  is  necessary  to  say  a  few  words  respecting  the  au- 
thority of  teachers. 

Until  a  Public  School  teacher  has  received  a  certificate  of 
qualification  from  the  committee  of  the  town  where  he  teaches, 
it  is  at  least  questionable  whether  he  has  any  authority  at  all 
as  a  teacher,  and  whether  he  would  have  any  right  to  enforce 
his  commands,  however  openly  or  contumaciously  resisted. 
But,  having  a  legal  certificate  in  his  possession,  he  has  an  in- 
disputable right  to  repress  disobedience  to  his  orders,  and  to 
enforce  compliance  with  all  lawful  commands.  For  this  pur- 
pose, he  may,  in  the  last  resort,  appeal  to  physical  force,  and 
13 


98 

inflict  any  bodily  chastisement,  not  unsuitable  to  the  age,  sex, 
or  condition  of  the  offender.  The  circumstances  which  justify 
an  appeal  to  this  ultimate  remedy  must,  in  the  first  instance, 
be  decided  upon  by  the  teacher  himself;  but  this  decision  is 
always  liable  to  be  appealed  from,  and  the  soundness  of  the 
discretion  used  to  be  readjudicated,  by  a  court  and  jury  of  the 
country.  It  is  true,  there  is  no  statutory  provision  in  our  law 
empowering  teachers  to  inflict  blows  ;  but  the  reason  of  this 
omission  was,  not  because  it  was  intended  to  withhold  the 
power,  but  because  the  power  was  so  universally  known  and 
recognized,  as  to  supersede  the  necessity  of  conferring  it. 
There  is  not  a  law  book  in  the  English  language,  which  treats 
of  the  relative  rights  and  duties  of  parents  and  children,  of 
master  and  apprentice,  of  master  and  servant,  or  of  teacher  and 
pupil,  which  does  not  recognize  in  the  former,  in  certain  sup- 
posable  cases,  a  right  to  inflict  personal  chastisement  upon  the 
latter ;  and  there  is  not  a  court  of  record  either  in  England  or 
America  in  which  this  right  has  ever  been  denied  or  ques- 
tioned, while  it  has  been  affirmed  in  innumerable  instances. 
In  all  the  legal  adjudications  that  have  ever  been  made,  no 
question  has  ever  been  raised  as  to  the  abstract  right.  The 
only  questions  have  been,  either  as  to  the  sufficiency  of  the 
circumstances,  alleged  and  proved,  to  justify  its  use  ;  or  whether 
the  punishment,  considering  the  nature  and  circumstances  of 
the  particular  offence,  has  not  been  excessive. 

177.  But  pupils  have  rights  as  well  as  teachers.  They  have 
as  valid  a  right  to  immunity  from  punishment,  when  they  have 
committed  no  offence  ;  they  have  as  valid  a  right  to  exemption 
from  severity  or  frequency  of  punishment,  when  their  offences 
have  been  slight,  or  far  between,  as  the  teacher  has  to  inflict 
punishment  at  all. 

178.  Teachers  have  a  right  to  expel,  tempoi-arily,  from 
school ;  committees  have  a  right  to  expel,  permanently,  from 
school, — that  is,  during  their  continuance  in  office.  If  teachers 
have  occasion  to  suspend  or  expel  a  scholar  from  school,  the 
sentence  should  not  cover  a  longer  period  of  time  than  would 
be  sufficient  for  convening  the  committee,  in  order  to  lay  the 
case  before  them.     (See  Report  made  by  the  Committee  on 


99 

Education  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  Feb.  8,  1841 ;  cited 
at  length  in  the  Common  School  Journal,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  65.) 

179.  The  question  is  not  without  some  practical  difficulty, 
how  far  the  school  committee  and  teachers  may  exercise  au- 
thority over  school  children,  before  the  hour  when  the  school 
begins,  or  after  the  hour  when  it  closes,  or  outside  of  the  school- 
house  door  or  yard.  On  the  one  hand,  there  is  certainly  some 
limit  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  committee  and  teachers,  out  of 
school  hours  and  out  of  the  schoolhouse  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  equally  plain,  if  their  jurisdiction  does  not  com- 
mence until  the  minute  for  opening  the  school  has  arrived,  nor 
until  the  pupil  has  passed  within  the  door  of  the  schoolroom, 
that  all  the  authority  left  to  them,  in  regard  to  some  of  the 
most  sacred  objects  for  which  our  schools  were  instituted, 
would  be  but  of  little  avail.  To  what  purpose  would  the 
teacher  prohibit  profane  or  obscene  language  among  his  schol- 
ars, within  the  schoolroom  and  during  school  hours,  if  they 
could  indulge  it  with  impunity,  and  to  any  extent  of  wanton- 
ness, as  soon  as  the  hour  for  dismissing  the  school  should  ar- 
rive ?  To  what  purpose  would  he  forbid  quarrelling  and  fight- 
ing among  the  scholars,  at  recess,  if  they  could  engage  in  single 
combat,  or  marshal  themselves  into  hostile  parties  for  a  general 
encounter,  within  the  precincts  of  the  schoolhouse,  and  within 
the  next  five  minutes  after  the  school  should  be  closed  ?  And 
to  what  purpose  would  he  repress  insolence  to  himself,  if  a 
scholar,  as  soon  as  he  had  passed  the  threshold,  might  shake 
his  fist  in  the  teacher's  face,  and  challenge  him  to  personal 
combat?  These  considerations  would  seem  to  show  that  there 
must  be  a  portion  of  time,  both  before  the  school  commences 
and  after  it  has  closed,  and  also  a  portion  of  space  between  the 
door  of  the  schoolhouse  and  that  of  the  paternal  mansion, 
where  the  jurisdiction  of  the  parent,  on  one  side,  and  of  the 
committee  and  teachers,  on  the  other,  is  concurrent.  Many  of 
the  school  committees  in  the  Commonwealth  have  acted  in 
accordance  with  these  views,  and  have  framed  regulations  for 
the  government  of  the  scholars,  both  before  and  after  school 
hours,  and  while  going  to  and  returning  from  the  school.  The 
same  principle  of  necessity  by  virtue  of  which  this  jurisdiction, 


100 

out  of  school  hours  and  beyond  school  premises,  is  claimed, 
defines  its  extent  and  affixes  its  limit.  It  is  claimed,  because 
the  great  objects  of  discipline  and  of  moral  culture  would  be 
frustrated  without  it.  When  not  essential,  therefore,  to  the  at- 
tainment of  these  objects,  it  should  be  forborne. 

180.  Payment  of  a  teacher's  wages  by  the  town  to  the  com- 
mittee does  not  discharge  the  town,  if  the  teacher  does  not 
receive  the  money.     Clark  v.  Great  Barrington,  11  Pick.  260. 

181.  When  the  prudential  committee  of  a  district  hires  a 
teacher,  he  acts  as  the  agent  of  the  town  and  not  of  the  dis- 
trict, and  therefore  the  teacher's  claim  is  not  upon  the  commit- 
tee but  upon  the  town.     lb. 

182.  The  teacher  of  a  town  school  is  not  liable  to  an  action 
by  a  parent  for  refusing  to  instruct  his  children.  Spear  v. 
Cuminitigs,  23  Pick.  224. 

BOARD    OF    EDUCATION. 

183.  I  now  come  to  the  consideration  of  an  entirely  distinct 
class  of  agencies  and  of  duties,  whose  object  it  is  to  obtain  in- 
formation respecting  the  true  principles  of  Popular  Education, 
and  the  most  eligible  means  of  promoting  it ;  and  to  diffuse 
that  information  among  the  people. 

If  anything  has  been  done  within  the  last  twelve  years  to 
carry  forward  the  cause  of  education  in  Massachusetts,  it  has 
been  done  by  arguments  and  appeals,  founded  upon  an  unim- 
peachable basis  of  facts.  The  people  of  this  Commonwealth 
are  a  highly  reflecting  people, — ^not  so  susceptible  and  volatile 
as  to  be  suddenly  carried  away  by  any  new  theory,  however 
brilliant  or  plausible,  nor  so  bigotedly  conservative,  as  to  set 
their  faces  against  improvement,  because  it  is  innovation.  They 
well  know  that  improvement  is  necessarily  innovation.  Our 
present  form  of  government  was  a  bold  innovation  upon  that 
which  preceded  it ;  and  one  of  the  greatest  innovations  in  the 
whole  history  of  mankind  was  the  establishment  of  Free 
Schools  themselves.  One  needs  not  hesitate  to  say  that,  if 
any  new  measure,  depending  upon  the  popular  will,  were  to  be 
attempted  in  Massachusetts,  it  would  be  necessary  to  convince 
a  much  larger  portion  of  the  people  of  its  justice  and  its  utility, 


101 

than  in  any  other  state  m  the  Union,  or  country  ni  the  world. 
In  a  despotism  it  is  only  necessary  to  convince  the  sovereign 
of  the  expediency  of  a  new  measure,  and  his  resistless  fiat  in- 
sures its  execution.  Many  self-styled  republics  have  been  but 
little  better  than  oligarchies,  where,  under  a  nominal  govern- 
ment of  the  whole,  a  few  politicians  have  ruled  the  state.  But 
experience  has  proved  that  no  organic  change  can  be  effected 
in  the  institutions  of  Massachusetts,  but  by  carrying  a  convic- 
tion of  the  justness  and  the  expediency  of  the  proposed  modi- 
fication home  to  the  minds, — ^by  satisfying  both  the  intellect 
and  conscience, — of  a  great  majority  of  the  people. 

Hence,  the  numerous  and  important  additions  which,  within 
the  last  twelve  years,  have  been  engrafted  upon  the  school  sys- 
tem of  Massachusetts,  have  been  questioned  at  every  step,  and 
encountered  by  every  conceivable  objection.  The  advocates 
of  each  measure  have  been  called  upon,  not  merely  to  demon- 
strate its  practical  utility,  but  to  answer  imaginary  forebodings 
respecting  evils  possibly  consequent  upon  it.  The  demonstra- 
tion was  easy,  while  the  objections  drawn  from  the  imagina- 
tion have  been  confuted  by  time.  So  careful  have  the  Board 
of  Education,  and  their  coadjutors,  both  in  and  out  of  the 
Legislature,  been,  not  to  venture  upon  any  ill-considered  or  ill- 
digested  schemes,  that,  in  not  a  single  instance,  has  it  been 
necessary  for  them  to  retrace  their  steps. 

184.  The  Board  of  Education  was  established  by  an  act  of 
the  Legislature,  approved  April  20,  1837,  and  it  was  organized 
on  the  29th  of  June  of  the  same  year.* 

The  Board  consists  of  ten  persons.  The  Governor  and  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor for  the  time  being  are,  ex  officiis,  members  of 
the  Board.  The  remaining  eight  persons  are  nominated  to  the 
Council  by  the  Governor,  and,  if  the  nomination  be  approved, 
they  are  appointed.     The  members  appointed  by  the  Governor 

*  Immediately  after  its  organization,  the  Board  issued  an  "  Address  to  the  People  of 
Massachusetts,"  which  was  afterwards  appended  to  their  First  Annual  Report.  (See,  also, 
Common  School  Journal,  Vol.  I,  p.  268.)  In  its  internal  organization,  the  Board  has  a  stand- 
ing committee  of  visiters,  (so  called,)  for  each  of  the  Stale  Normal  Schools,  an  executive 
committee,  a  committee  on  school  libraries,  a  committee  on  accounts,  and  such  other  com- 
mittees as,  from  time  to  time,  may  be  found  necessary.  The  Secretary  of  the  Board  is 
chosen  annually.  He  has  a  right  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations  of  the  Board,  but  has  no 
right  of  voting.    The  Board  also  chooses  a  Treasurer,  who  holds  his  oflSce  for  one  year. 


102 

and  Council  hold  their  office  for  the  period  of  eight  years ;  but 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  rotation  of  office,  it  was  provided, 
in  the  original  constitution  of  the  Board,  that  the  person  first 
named  in  the  commission  should  go  out  of  office  at  the  end  of 
one  year,  the  second  at  the  end  of  two  years,  and  so  on,  till  the 
whole  Board  should  be  changed.  This  provision  of  the  law 
having  been  executed,  each  new  member  is  now  appointed  for 
the  term  of  eight  years ;  or,  in  case  of  the  resignation  of  a 
member,  to  complete  an  unexpired  term  of  eight  years.  In 
practice,  the  construction  of  the  law  has  uniformly  been,  that 
no  member  is  reappointable  as  his  own  immediate  successor. 
St.  1837,  ch.  241,  «^  1. 

185.  In  the  act  establishing  the  Board,  (the  provisions  of 
which  have  since  been  very  much  modified  and  enlarged,)  the 
following  duties  were  enjoined  upon  them  and  upon  their  Sec- 
retary : — 

1st.  They  were  required  to  prepare  and  lay  before  the  Legis- 
lature, in  a  printed  form,  on  or  before  the  second  Wednesday  in 
January,  annually,  an  Abstract  of  the  School  Returns,  received 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth.     lb.  *§.  2. 

186.  2d.  They  were  to  appoint  a  Secretary,  at  a  salary  not 
exceeding  one  thousand  dollars  a  year,  whose  duty  it  should 
be,  under  the  direction  of  the  Board,  "to  collect  information 
of  the  actual  condition  and  efficiency  of  the  Common  Schools, 
and  other  means  of  Popular  Education,  and  to  diffuse,  as  widely 
as  possible,  throughout  every  part  of  the  Commonwealth,  infor- 
mation of  the  most  approved  and  successful  methods  of  arrang- 
ing the  studies  and  conducting  the  education  of  the  young,  to 
the  end  that  all  children  in  this  Commonwealth,  who  depend 
upon  Common  Schools  for  instruction,  may  have  the  best  edu- 
cation which  those  schools  can  be  made  to  impart."     lb. 

187.  3d.  The  Board  was  required,  annually,  to  "make  a  de- 
tailed Report  to  the  Legislature  of  all  its  doings,  with  such  ob- 
servations as  their  experience  and  reflection  might  suggest  upon 
the  condition  and  efficiency  of  our  system  of  Popular  Educa- 
tion, and  upon  the  most  practicable  means  for  improving  and 
extending  it."     lb.  <^  3. 

188.  Afterwards,  by  St.  1838,  ch.  55,  it  was  provided  that 


103 

the  expenses  actually  incurred  in  the  discharge  of  their  official 
duties,  by  those  members  of  the  Board  who  are  appointed  by 
the  Governor  and  Council,  after  being  audited  and  allowed  by 
the  Governor  and  Council,  should  be  reimbursed  to  them. 
These  expenses  consist  in  the  cost  of  attending  the  annual  or 
other  meetings  of  the  Board,  in  making  visitations  to  the  State 
Normal  Schools,  in  postage,  stationery,  &c.  Their  average 
amount  has  been  not  far  from  two  hundred  dollars  a  year,  for 
the  whole  Board.  The  services  of  the  Board  are  gratuitously 
rendered. 

1S9.  In  1838,  the  duties  of  the  Secretary  having  been  very 
much  enlarged,  his  salary  was  fixed  at  $1500  a  year.  But  no 
allowance  was  made  for  any  expenses  incurred  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duties.  During  the  continuance  of  the  first  Secretary 
in  his  office,  no  allowance  was  ever  made  for  office-rent,  clerk- 
hire,  purchase  of  suitable  or  necessary  books,  and  so  forth,  or 
for  other  incidental  expenses.  Though  required,  once  in  each 
year,  at  such  time  as  the  Board  of  Education  should  appoint, 
to  "attend,  in  each  county  of  the  Commonwealth,  a  meeting 
of  all  such  teachers  of  Public  Schools,  members  of  the  school 
committees  of  the  several  towns,  and  friends  of  education  gen- 
erally in  the  country,  as  might  voluntarily  assemble ;"  yet  no 
part  of  the  travelling  or  other  expenses  of  these  circuits  was 
ever  provided  for  or  refunded.* 

SECRETARY    OF    THE    BOARD    OF    EDUCATION. 

190.  The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education  is  Librarian 
of  the  State  Library.  St.  1849,  ch.  155,  "^  1.  As  such  libra- 
rian, the  apartments  in  the  State  House,  occupied  by  the  State 
Library,  are  furnished  for  his  accommodation,  and  set  apart  as 

*  The  first  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education  never  made  apphcation  to  the  Legisla- 
ture himself,  nor  sutTered  his  friends  to  make  application  for  him,  for  any  clerical  or  other 
assistance  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  or  for  any  relief  from  its  pecuniary  bur- 
dens. His  ambition  was  to  place  the  importance  and  utility  of  the  office  on  such  high  and 
incontestable  grounds  that,  when  he  should  resign  it,  it  should  be  deemed  worthy  to  be  in- 
corporated into  the  government  of  the  State  as  one  of  its  integral  and  permanent  depart- 
ments ;  and  that  his  successor  should  be  placed  upon  such  a  footing  of  independence  and 
dignity  as  should  make  his  position  an  eligible  one  for  any  man  of  high  talents,  of  varied 
attainments,  and  of  philanthropic  character.  How  far  this  ambition  has  been  gratified,  will 
appear  by  reference  to  the  provisions  subsequently  enumerated  in  the  text. 


104  < 

his  office.     He  is  to  report  annually,  in  the  month  of  January, 
respecting  the  condition  of  the  Library.     lb.  >§>  3. 

191.  The  Secretary  has  power  to  appoint  an  assistant,  who, 
when  necessary,  shall  act  as  clerk  of  the  Board. 

192.  The  Secretary  is  to  "apply  himself  diligently  to  the 
object  of  collecting  information  of  the  condition  of  the  Public 
Schools  ;" — "of  the  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  their  office  by 
all  members  of  the  school  committees  of  all  the  towns,  and 
the  chcumstances  of  the  several  school  districts,  in  regard  to 
all  the  subjects  of  teachers,  pupils,  books,  apparatus,  and  meth- 
ods of  education ;  with  the  intent  of  furnishing  all  requisite 
materials  for  the  report  by  law  required  from  the  Board  of 
Education."     St.  1838,  ch.  159,  *§.  1. 

193.  The  Secretary  is  to  suggest  to  the  Board  and  to  the 
General  Court,  improvements  in  the  present  system  of  Common 
Schools.  St.  1849,  ch.  215.  This  provision,  in  connection 
with  a  clause  in  the  first  section  of  the  sixty-fifth  chapter  of 
the  statutes  of  1849,  clearly  implies  that  the  Secretary  is  to 
make  an  annual  report. 

He  is  to  visit,  as  often  as  his  other  duties  will  permit,  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Commonwealth,  for  the  purpose  of  arousing 
and  guiding  public  sentiment  in  relation  to  the  practical  inter- 
ests of  education  ; 

To  collect  in  his  office  such  school  books,  apparatus,  maps 
and  charts,  as  can  be  obtained  without  expense  to  the  Com- 
monwealth ; 

To  purchase  rare  and  valuable  works  on  education  for  the 
use  of  the  Board,  and  for  the  benefit  of  teachers,  authors  and 
others,  who  wish  to  consult  them  ;  for  which  purpose  the  sum 
of  fifty  dollars  a  year  is  placed  at  his  disposal  ; 

To  receive  and  arrange  in  his  office,  the  reports,  returns  and 
registers  [blank,]  now  or  hereafter  in  the  office  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Commonwealth ;  and 

To  receive,  preserve  or  distribute  the  State  documents  in  re- 
lation to  the  Common  School  system.     St.  1849,  ch.  215,  <§.  1. 

194.  The  Secretary  of  the  Board  is  to  make  up  the  annual 
Abstracts  of  the  School  Returns.     St.  1847,  ch.  183,  <§>  1. 

195.  He  is  to  cause  the  blank  Forms  of  Inquiry,  the  School 
Registers,  the  Abstract  of  School  Returns,  and  the  annual  Report 


105 

of  the  Board  of  Education  and  that  of  its  Secretary,  to  be  for- 
warded to  the  sheriffs  of  the  several  counties,  for  distribution 
to  the  clerks  of  the  several  towns  and  cities  within  their 
counties  respectively.     St.  1849,  ch.  65,  *§>  1. 

196.  He  is  also  to  make  an  annual  report  to  the  Legislature 
of  the  several  expenses  incurred  by  the  Board  of  Education, 
"for  any  object  whatever."     Res.,  March  1,  1842. 

197.  The  Secretary's  salary  is  $1600  per  annum,  payable 
quarterly.     St.  1849,  ch.  215,  <^  2. 

198.  All  necessary  travelling  expenses,  incurred  by  the  Sec- 
retary in  the  performance  of  his  official  duties,  after  being  ap- 
proved by  the  Board  ;  and  all  postages  and  other  necessary  ex- 
penses arising  in  his  office,  are  to  be  paid  by  the  State.  St. 
1849,  ch.  215,  <^  3. 

SCHOOL    REGISTERS. 

199.  The  Board  of  Education  are  required  to  prescribe  a 
blank  Form  for  a  School  Register,  to  be  used  in  all  the  Public 
Schools  in  the  State.  St.  1849,  ch.  209.  The  Registers  are 
to  be  forwarded  from  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board, 
through  the  hands  of  the  sheriffs  of  the  several  counties,  to  the 
town  clerks,  by  whom  they  are  to  be  delivered  to  the  school 
committees.     St.  1849,  ch.  65. 

200.  Each  school  is  to  be  furnished  with  a  Register.  The 
committees  of  the  towns  having  received  the  Registers  are 
thenceforth  responsible  for  them  ;  and  it  is  their  duty  to  cause 
the  Registers,  in  the  form  prescribed  by  the  Board,  to  be  faith- 
fully kept  in  all  the  schools.     St.  1838,  ch.  105,  <§»  6. 

201.  No  teacher  is  entitled  to  receive  any  payment  for  his  or 
her  services,  until  the  Register  for  his  or  her  school,  properly 
filled  up  and  completed,  shall  be  deposited  with  the  school  com- 
mittee, or  with  such  person  as  they  may  designate  to  receive  it. 
St.  1849,  ch.  209. 

202.  The  following  exhibits  a  condensed  plan  of  the  Regis- 
ter prescribed  by  the  Board,  and  now  in  use  in  the  schools  of 
the  State  :* 

*  It  beinj  understood  that  the  Board  had  under  its  consideration  the  subject  of  making 
some  change  in  the  form  of  the  present  Register,  apphcation  was  made  to  them  for  a  copy 

14 


106 


1.  REGISTER  of 
Kept  by 
Commencing 
Endinsr 


2.  NAMES  of  School  Committee  for  the  Year  18 


NAME  of  Prudential  Committee  for  the  Year  18 


4 

5.                 Scholars. 

6.  Record  of  Daily  Attendance 
FOR  THK  Term. 

Names  of 
Parents  or 
Guardians. 

Date  of 

entering 

the 
School. 

Date  of 
leaving 

the 
School. 

B 

3 

z 

o 

Names  of 
Scholars. 

Age. 

a 
o 

s 

-6 

3 
JZ 

JO 

d 
o 

3 

Eh 

2 

c 
o 

3 

>  S 

0) 

3  -a 
H  fa 

15.  Length  of  School  in  months  and 
days,  four  weeks  making  a  month, 


17.  Averaofe  attendance  of  Scholars, 


16.  Whole  number  of  different  Schol- 
ars attending  the  School, 


18.  Wages  of  Teacher  per  month,  $ 


Prefixed  to  the  blank  sheets  of  the  Register  are  the  following 

DIRECTIONS    AND    EXPLANATIONS  : 

(1.)  In  the  first  blank  are  to  be  entered  the  name  or  designation  of  the  school, 

as  "  District  No.  1,"  "  Central  District,"  or  whatever  it  may  be, — the  name 

of  the  teacher,  and  the  date  of  tlie  sciiool's  commencing  and  closing. 

(2.)  This  blank  is  for  tlie  names  of  the  Superintending  and  Prudential  Com- 
mittees. 

(3.)  If  school  committees  give  tlie  teacher  a  list  of  the  books  to  be  used  in 
the  school,  he  should  immediately  fill  tlie  blank.  No.  3,  by  transcribing  tlie  list. 
The  committee,  if  they  prefer,  may  fill  this  blank,  before  delivering  the  Regis- 
ter to  the  teacher. 

(4.)  No.  4  requires  no  explanation. 

(5.)  The  columns  for  tlie  date  of  any  scholar's  entering  or  leaving  the  school 
may  be  left  blank,  unless  when  a  scholar  shall  enter  or  leave  during  the  term. 
If  a  scholar  enters  after  the  commencement  of  the  term,  let  the  date  of  the  event 
be  entered  against  his  name,  and  let  a  liorizontal  black  line  be  drawn  from  his 
"  Age"  to  the  column  denoting  tlie  day  when  liis  attendance  begins.     That  is, 

of  the  new  form,  should  a  new  one  be  adopted.  But  as  the  printing  of  this  edition  of  the 
Report  has  already  been  delayed  for  some  weeks  awaiting  the  action  of  the  Board,  and  as 
no  new  form  has  as  yet  been  prepared,  or  decided  upon  by  the  Board,  the  existing  form  of 
the  Register  is  inserted.  Should  any  change  be  made  before  the  last  sheets  of  the  Report 
go  to  press,  the  new  form  will  be  given  in  the  Appendix. 


lOT 


3.  LIST  of  Books  prescribed  by  the  School  Committee. 


7. 

£ 

z 

a 
o 

j= 

6.  contin'd. 
Record* 
continued. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11.  Studies. 

12.  Other 

Studies, 
(if  any.) 

13. 

14 

3 

;d 

B 

o 
£ 

"5 

0 

2 

^  >^ 

C   m 

3 

.-o 
o  o 
2  '• 

d  « 

bJD-C 

~  o 

z- 

=  =  i 

5.2  £ 

|5U 

M  rt  o 

^  he  J 
^  o  o 

be 

0 

6 

-5 
Si 

bin 
1 

£ 
£ 

-C 

1p 

bJD 

O 

g 

- 

- 

— 

Davs  when  visited 
by  School  Comm., 
&,  Names  of  Com. 
making-  the  visit. 

5 

Si 

„ 

19.    Value   of  Teacher's  Board   per 
month,  $ 

SjgTierf, 

— 





— 

— 

— 

— 

Teacher. 

if  a  scholar  comes  in,  for  the  first  time,  on  the  first  day  of  tlie  second  week  of 
the  school,  let  a  horizontal  black  line  be  drawn,  against  his  name,  through  tlie 
first  six  days  of  the  school's  keeping.  So,  when  a  scholar  leaves,  let  a  horizon- 
tal black  line  be  drawn,  against  his  name,  after  the  day  on  which  he  left.  In  all 
other  cases,  it  will  be  understood  that  the  attendance  commenced  with  the 
school,  and  that  the  scholar  did  not  leave  until  its  close. 

In  the  colimin  "  Scholars'  Number,"  enter  a  number  from  1,  onward,  against 
all  the  scholars'  names.  Where  the  school  consists  of  thirty  different  scholars, 
they  are  to  be  numbered  from  1  to  30 ;  if  of  sixty,  then  from  1  to  GO,  and  so  on. 
The  object  of  this  will  be  seen  hereafter. 

The  naims  of  the  scholars  may  be  entered  in  such  order  as  the  teacher  may 
prefer ;  but  it  is  suggested  that  an  entry  of  the  names,  according  to  the  order 
of  the  seats  occupied,  will  prove  most  convenient ;  because,  when  the  teacher 
is  filling  the  Register,  tlie  arrangement  of  the  scholars  in  their  seats  will  then 
correspond  with  the  order  of  their  names  in  the  Register,  and  will  thus  facilitate 
a  reference  from  one  to  the  other.  As  other  circumstances,  however,  may  con- 
flict with  this  suggestion,  the  intelligent  teacher  is  left  to  adopt  his  own  course. 
Some  teachers  prefer  the  alphabetical  order. 

(6)  (6.)  In  providing  a  blank  for  the  daily  attendance  of  each  scholar,  it  is 
obviously  necessary  to  make  provision  for  the  longest  term  during  which  any 

*  This  Table  of  Daily  Allendance,  as  contained  in  the  Register,  is  so  extended  as  to  be 
sufficient  for  a  period  of  six  months. 


108 

of  our  schools  are  kept.  As  many  of  tlie  schools,  with  the  exception  of  vaca- 
tions, are  kept  through  the  year,  and  others  four  or  five  montlis,  both  summer 
and  winter,  it  is  necessary  that  each  sheet  of  tlie  Register  should  be  sufficient 
for  any  half  year.  The  blank  No.  6  will  suffice  for  twenty-three  weeks,  and 
wUl  doubtless  be  sufficient  to  meet  tlie  wants  of  any  school  for  a  half  year.* 

The  blank  supposes  the  school  to  begin  on  Monday ;  if  it  does  not,  but  begins 
on  Wednesday,  for  instance,  let  a  horizontal  line,  or  dash,  be  drawn,  connecting 
the  scholar's  name  witli  tlie  column  for  the  day  when  tlie  school  begins. 

In  tlie  blank,  tlie  weeks  are  separated  from  each  otlier  by  a  heavy  line  ;  and  by 
drawing  a  brace  over  tlie  days  belonging  to  any  particular  montli,  the  name,  (and, 
if  desired,  the  day  also,)  of  the  month  may  be  entered  in  writing,  above  them. 
It  will  tlien  be  seen,  at  a  glance,  during  what  months  the  school  has  been  kept. 

As  it  is  hoped  that  tlie  number  of  scholars  in  attendance  will  very  much 
overbalance  the  number  of  absentees,  it  is  the  plan  of  tlie  Register  to  denote 
tardinesses  and  absences  by  appropriate  marks,  but  to  make  no  entry  for  signi- 
fying attendance.  By  adopting  tliis  mode,  the  labor  of  the  teacher  will  be 
greatly  lightened,  and  a  mere  inspection  will  show  tlie  number  of  marks  for 
tardiness  or  absence  standing  against  any  scholar's  name,  and  sullying  and  dis- 
figuring his  portion  of  tlie  Register. 

Half  a  caret,  thus,  / ,  will  denote  tardiness,  and  may  be  entered  as  soon  after 
the  school  begins,  as  it  is  found  that  a  scholar  is  not  in  his  seat.  If  he  after- 
wards comes  in,  the  mark  wUl  stand,  as  evidence  of  his  being  late  at  school. 
If  he  does  not  come  in  during  tlie  half  day,  turn  the  half  caret  into  a  whole  one, 
thus,  /\,  and  it  wLU  denote  a  half  day's  absence.  If  the  absence  or  tardiness 
be  in  the  morning,  let  the  sign  of  it  be  made  in  tlie  upper  half  of  the  space ; 
if  it  be  in  the  afternoon,  let  it  be  entered  in  tiie  lower  half.  There  is  sufficient 
room,  in  each  space,  for  an  entry,  both  morning  and  afternoon,  if  it  be  done 
neatly.  As  no  entry,  according  to  the  plan  of  the  Register,  is  to  be  made  for 
indicating  the  presence  of  a  scholar,  the  corresponding  spaces  against  his  name 
will  be  left  vacant,  unless  teachers  may  choose  to  adopt  some  system  of  nota- 
tion for  signifying  the  moral  conduct  of  the  scholar,  or  the  character  of  his 
recitations,  or  botli.  If  they  choose  to  do  this,  the  otherwise  unoccupied  space 
will  afford  tliem  an  opportunity  for  making  the  entry.  As  only  a  part  of  our 
teachers  are  accustomed  to  keep  such  a  record,  and  as  the  modes  of  keeping  it 
are  various,  no  form  is  here  given,  but  each  teacher  is  left  to  do  as  he  pleases. 

In  the  spaces  where  tlie  days,  Monday,  Tuesday,  &c.,  are  printed,  there  is 
sufficient  room  for  entering  tlie  state  of  tlie  weather,  as  Fair,  Cold,  Snowy,  &.c. 
Such  entries  may  serve  to  explain  the  causes  for  tlie  tardiness  or  absence  of 
some  scholars,  and  they  will  also  show  that  other  scholars  did  not  yield  to  them. 
If  a  thermometer  belongs  to  the  school,  the  teacher  may  enter  here,  if  he 
pleases,  the  number  of  the  degree  at  which  the  mercury  stands  at  12  o'clock, 
noon,  of  each  day. 

(7.)  The  first,  or  left-hand  column,  on  the  right-hand  page,  is  for  entering 
again  the  number  of  the  scholar,  (or  his  initials,  as  the  teacher  may  prefer,)  so 
as  to  aid  the  inspector's  eye  in  running  across  the  sheet. 

*  See  Note,  page  107. 


109 

(8.)  At  the  close  of  the  school,  the  aggregate  number  of  the  tardinesses,  and 
of  the  days  of  each  scholar's  absence  and  attendance,  togetlier  witli  the  number 
of  days  he  may  have  belonged  to  the  school,  will  be  entered  here.  The  num- 
ber of  absences  and  attendances  must  be  reduced  to  days  before  being  entered 
in  their  respective  columns. 

(9)  (10.)  The  marks  /  and  /\,  in  either  of  these  columns,  will  denote,  (as 
before,)  tlie  tardiness  or  absence  of  tlie  scholar,  on  tlie  days,  or  half  days,  of  the 
committee's  visitation.  If  no  entry  be  made,  the  scholar's  presence  will  be  in- 
ferred. 

(11.)  Under  this  head,  each  of  the  studies  required  by  the  statute  of  tlie  Com- 
monwealth to  be  taught  in  every  Common  School  has  a  separate  column.  The 
sign  for  minus,  thus,  — ,  entered  in  any  column,  will  signify  that  the  scholar  is 
not  pursuing  the  study  named  at  its  head.  If  no  entry  be  made,  it  will  indicate 
that  the  branches,  named  over  the  blank  space,  are  pursued. 

(12.)  Under  this  head,  any  other  study  pursued  in  tlie  school  may  be  entered. 
The  teacher  will  enter,  in  writing,  tlie  name  of  the  study,  and  then  tlie  letter  S. 
placed  under  it,  and  against  any  scholar's  name,  will  indicate  that  he  is  studying  it. 

(13.)  This  requires  no  explanation. 

(14.)  Under  this  head,  the  teacher  may  enter  any  such  remarks  respecting 
the  scholar, — ^his  deficiency  in  class  books,  his  conduct,  &c.  &c., — as  he  may 
deem  proper. 

(15.)  This  requires  no  explanation. 

(16.)  The  whole  number  of  different  scholars  who  may  have  belonged  to  the 
school  during  the  term,  will  be  ascertained  by  looking  at  the  bottom  of  the  third 
column,  under  No.  (5),  "  Scholars'  Number." 

(17.)  The  average  attendance  of  any  one  scholar  may  be  found  by  comparing 
tlie  whole  amount  of  his  attendance,  (reduced  to  days,)  with  the  whole  number 
of  the  days,  during  ivhich  he  may  have  belonged  to  the  school. 

The  average  attendance  of  the  whole  school,  for  tlie  whole  term,  will  be  found 
in  the  following  manner : — 

Add  up  the  two  columns,  "  No.  of  days'  attendance,"  and  "  No.  of  days  be- 
longing to  the  school."  Reduce  tliem  by  a  common  divisor  to  their  lowest 
terms,  (though  the  result  will  be  the  same  if  they  are  not  so  reduced,)  and,  as 
the  latter,  ("  No.  of  days  belonging  to  the  school,")  is  to  the  former,  ("  No.  of 
days'  attendance,")  so  is  the  average  number  of  scholars  who  have  belonged  to 
tlie  school,  to  tlie  average  attendance.* 

For  example,  suppose  tlie  footing  of  the  column,  "  No.  of  days  belonging  to 
the  school,"  to  be  5600 ;  suppose,  also,  the  footing  of  the  column,  "  No.  of 
days'  attendance,"  to  be  5040,  (there  having  been  560  absences,)  and  suppose 
the  average  number  of  scholars  who  have  belonged  to  the  school  to  be  70 ; 
tlien  |.§e.o  =  m),  and  as  10  :  9  : :  70  :  63.  Sixty-three,  therefore,  is  the  aver- 
age attendance.  The  result  would  be  the  same  without  the  reduction ;  thus, 
as  5600  :  5040  : :  70  :  63. 

The  teacher,  of  course,  wUl  take  into  consideration  the  number  of  half  days 

*  The  average  number  of  scholars  who  have  belonged  to  the  school  is  found  by  dividing 
the  amount  or  aggregate  of  the  "  No.  of  days  belonging  to  the  school,"  by  the  whole  number  of 
days  the  school  has  been  kept.  The  quotient  will  be  the  average  number  belonging  to  the  school . 


no 

which  constitute  a  school  week,  according  to  the  custom  of  tlie  place  where  he 
teaches.  If  botli  Wednesday  and  Saturday  afternoons  are  half  holidays,  tlien 
ten  half  days,  whetlier  of  absence  or  attendance,  will  make  a  week. 

The  above  problem  is  so  easy,  that  any  teacher  who  cannot  work  it  out  cor- 
rectly should  be  cautious  about  becoming  a  candidate  for  school  keeping. 

The  Register  books  are  of  different  sizes.  Where  the  number  of  scholars  in 
a  school  does  not  exceed  thirtj'-tlu-ee,  two  pages  avOI  be  sufficient  for  a  term. 
If  the  number  of  scholars  be  more  than  thirty-tliree,  but  not  exceeding  sixty- 
six,  four  pages  will  suffice  for  a  term.     And  so  of  still  larger  schools. 

Where  more  than  one  leaf  is  occupied,  there  will  be  some  supernumerary 
headings ;  but  this  it  was  impossible  to  avoid. 

It  wUl  be  observed  by  school  committees,  that  Register  books  of  different 
sizes  are  sent  to  them.  The  different  sizes  of  the  books  are  intended  to  cor- 
respond witli  the  different  numbers  of  scholars  belonging  to  their  respective 
schools,  as  ascertained  by  an  examination  of  tlie  School  Returns  for  the  last 
and  previous  years.  Where  it  has  appeared  by  these  Returns,  that  the  number 
of  scholars  belonging  to  a  school  has  been  equal  to  twenty-Jive,  a  book  sufficient 
for  thirty-three  has  been  prepared,  in  order  to  provide  for  an  increase  of  the 
school.  The  same  proportion  has  been  observed  in  regard  to  larger  schools. 
The  school  committees,  of  course,  will  distribute  the  Registers  according  to  the 
number  of  scholars  respectively  belonging  to  their  districts,  or  schools. 

The  books  are  designed  to  last  for  five  years.  Should  another  sheet,  or 
anotlier  book,  be  wanted  before  the  expiration  of  that  time,  application  nmst  be 
made  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  stating  tlie  whole  number  of  the  scholars 
belonging  to  the  school,  and  whether  or  not  that  number  will  probably  increase, 
before  the  expiratiop  of  the  five  years  above  mentioned.* 

INQUIRIES    AND    RETURNS. 

203.  During  the  month  of  January, — and,  of  course,  some 
months  before  the  expiration  of  the  committees'  official  year, — 
a  Blank  Form  of  Inquiry  is  to  be  prepared,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Board  of  Education.  One  copy  of  this  blank  form  is 
to  be  sent  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  through  the  hands  of 

*  The  above  Form  of  a  Register  was  prepared  wilh  great  care,  and  after  the  examination 
of  hundreds  of  diflTerenl  forms  used  in  the  schools  of  this  country  and  in  those  of  Europe. 
When  the  first  sketch  or  outline  of  it  was  completed,  it  was  exhibited,  or  a  copy  of  it  trans- 
mitted, to  distinguished  teachers  in  every  couiitj'  in  Massachusetts,  and  to  other  teachers  of 
the  highest  reputation,  in  the  other  New  England  States  and  in  New  York.  As  only  one 
modification  of  any  importance  was  suggested,  it  may  be  said  to  have  had  the  unanimous 
approval  of  the  most  distinguished  educators  in  this  country. 

The  advantages  of  a  permanent  Register  book  over  fugitive  sheets,  are  almost  too  obvious 
to  be  enumerated.  It  is  less  expensive  5  it  is  less  liable  to  be  lost,  mislaid,  or  mutilated  ;  it  will 
exhibit  the  condition  of  a  school  for  a  series  of  years ;  from  its  pages  much  can  be  learned  of 
the  early  history  of  the  scholars  ;  and  hence  it  will  be  one  of  the  strongest  proofs  to  show  the 
intimate  connection  between  youthful  conduct  and  adult  character.  A  manufacturer  may  as 
well  be  without  a  Time  book,  or  a  merchant  without  a  Journal,  as  a  teacher  without  a  Register. 


Ill 

the  sheriffs,  to  the  clerks  of  the  several  cities  and  towns,  and 
the  clerks  are  respectively  to  deliver  said  copy  to  the  school 
committee  of  each  city  and  town  in  the  State.  St.  1846,  ch. 
223,  <§.  3.     1849,  ch.  65. 

A  portion  of  this  blank  is  of  a  permanent  character, — being 
the  same,  or  substantially  the  same,  from  year  to  year  ;  a  por- 
tion of  it  is  variable,  being  adapted  to  obtain  information,  on  a 
certain  class  of  facts,  one  year,  and  on  another  class,  another 
year.  The  permanent  part  comprises  all  the  great  statistical 
facts, — such  as  the  amount  of  money  appropriated,  the  length 
of  the  schools,  the  total  attendance  and  average  attendance  of 
the  scholars,  &c., — which  constitute  the  basis,  and  denote  the 
prosperity,  of  the  system.  The  Inquiries  propounded  by  the 
other  part  are  of  such  a  nature  that  they  need  not  be  repeated 
from  year  to  year.  The  Board  has  discretionary  power  to  in- 
sert, in  the  blanks,  whatever  questions  they  deem  expedient.* 

*  Among  other  questions  propounded,  within  the  last  ten  years,  to  school  committees,  pro- 
fessional men,  and  others,  in  order  to  obtain  information  bearing  upon  the  question  of  Pop- 
ular Education,  are  the  following  :-— 

Is  inconvenience  or  discomfort  suffered  from  the  construction  or  location  of  schoolhouses 
in  your  town,  and,  if  so,  in  what  manner  ?  Are  the  requisitions  of  law  complied  with  in  yotir 
town,  in  relation  to  the  aggregate  lengths  of  time  in  which  schools  are  kept;  the  different 
kinds  of  schools  kept,  and  the  qualitications  of  the  teachers  employed  ?  Does  your  town 
choose  a  school  committee  each  year  ?  Do  they  organize  as  a  committee,  and  do  they  visit 
and  examine  the  schools,  as  required  by  law  ?  Are  school  committee  men  paid  for  their 
services,  and,  if  so,  how  much  ?  Are  teachers  employed  for  the  Public  Schools,  without 
being  examined  and  approved,  or  before  being  examined  and  approved,  by  the  committee  ? 
Do  parents  in  general  exhibit  any  public  interest  in  the  character  and  progress  of 
schools,  by  attending  examinations  or  otherwise  ?  Do  the  school  committee  select  the 
kinds  of  books  to  be  used  in  schools,  or  is  it  left  to  parents  and  teachers  ?  Do  the  school 
committee  cause  books  to  be  furnished,  at  the  expense  of  the  town,  to  such  scholars  as  are 
destitute  of  those  required  ?  Is  there  a  uniformity  of  books  in  the  same  school  ?  Is  any 
apparatus  used  in  your  schools  ?  If  so,  in  how  many,  and  of  what  kinds  is  it  ?  Have  any 
teachers  been  employed  who  practise  school  keeping  as  a  regular  employment,  or  profes- 
sion ?     If  any,  how  many  ?     Are  they  male  or  female  ? 

Are  scholars  in  your  schools  kept  in  spelling  classes,  from  the  time  of  their  earliest  com- 
bination of  letters,  up  to  the  time  of  their  leaving  school ;  or  what  is  the  course  ordinarily 
pursued,  in  regard  to  teaching  orthography,  and  how  long  is  it  continued  ?  Are  there  de- 
fects in  teaching  scholars  to  read  1  This  inquiry  is  not  made  in  regard  to  the  pronunciation 
of  words  and  the  modulation  of  the  voice;  but  do  the  scholars  fail  to  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  the  words  they  read  ?  Do  they  fail  to  master  the  sense  of  the  reading  lessons  ?  Is 
there  a  presence,  in  the  minds  of  the  scholars,  when  reading,  of  the  ideas  and  feelings  in- 
tended to  be  conveyed  and  excited  by  the  author  ? 

Is  there  in  your  town  any  Town,  Social,  or  District  School  Library  ?  If  so,  how  many  ? 
What  number  of  volumes  do  they  contain,  and  what  is  their  present  value,  as  nearly  as  you 
can  estimate  it  ?  What  number  of  persons  have  a  right  of  access  to  them  1  Are  the  books 
of  which  they  consist  adapted  to  the  capacities  of  children  and  youth,  and  have  they  good 


112 

intellectual  and  moral  tciulencies  ?     Please  be  as  particular  as  your  convenience  will  allow, 
respecting-  the  character  of  the  books. 

Have  you  any  Mechanics'  Institute  in  your  towTi,  either  with  or  without  reading  rooms  ? 
If  any,  what  number  of  members  belong  to  it  ?  Have  you  Lyceums,  Literary  Societies,  or 
Associations  under  any  name,  before  which  courses  of  Popular  Lectures,  on  literarj'  or  scien- 
tific subjects,  have  been  delivered  within  the  year  last  past  ?  If  anj',  what  number  of  persons 
have  usually  attended  the  Lectures  ?  What  amount  of  money  has  been  expended  for  Lec- 
tures within  the  last  year  ?  What  is  tlie  probable  amount  of  incidental  expenses  for  Lecture 
rooms,  fuel,  lights,  attendance,  «kc.  ?  At  what  time  were  the  above  institutions  established, 
and  are  they  in  a  flourishing  or  declining  condition  ? 

How  many  schoolhouses  are  owned  in  j'our  town,  cither  by  the  town  or  school  districts  ? 
How  many  schoolrooms  are  hired  by  the  town  or  by  districts  ?  How  many  schoolhouses 
have  been  built  in  your  town,  since  the  beginning  of  the  year  1838,  to  the  present  time  ?  At 
what  cost,  including  the  price  of  land,  and  all  fixtures  and  appurtenances  ?  How  many 
schoolhouses  have  been  substantially  repaired  or  remodelled  during  the  same  period  ?  At 
what  cost  ? 

In  how  many  of  your  Public  Schools,  (if  in  any.)  are  there  regular  exercises  in  vocal  music  ? 

On  what  basis  is  the  money  raised  by  your  town  apportioned  or  distributed  among  the 
school  districts,  and  what  is  the  lowest  sum  apportioned  to  any  one  district  ? 

Please  state  how  many  schools  have  been  broken  up  (if  any)  during  the  school  year,  and 
for  what  cause, — whether  from  incompetency  of  the  teacher,  insubordination  of  the  scholars, 
or  any  other.  Please  stale,  in  months,  or  in  years  and  months,  (as  the  case  may  be,)  for 
what  period  of  time  your  teachers  have  been  engaged,  respective!}',  in  keeping  school,  and 
how  many  of  them  have  taught,  during  the  current  year,  for  the  first  time. 

How  many  of  your  schoolrooms  have  a  black-board  ?  How  many  have  none  ?  How 
many  of  your  schoolrooms  have  outline  maps  ?  How  many  have  none  ?  How  many  of 
your  schoolrooms  have  a  globe  ?  How  many  have  none  ?  What  other  apparatus  is  there 
in  your  schools  ? 

Questions  contained  in  a  Circular  addressed  to  Manufacturers,  Rail- 
road Contractors,  Agriculturists,  &,c.  1st.  Have  you  had  large  numbers  of 
persons  in  your  employment  or  under  your  superintendence  ?  If  so,  will  you  please  to  state 
how  many  ?  Within  what  period  of  time  ?  In  what  department  of  business  ?  Whether  at 
diflerent  places  ?  Whether  natives  or  foreigners  ?  2d.  Have  you  observed  differences 
among  the  persons  you  have  employed,  growing  out  of  differences  in  their  education,  and 
independent  of  their  natural  abilities  ;  that  is,  whether,  as  a  class,  those  who,  from  early  life, 
have  been  accustomed  to  exercise  their  minds  by  reading  and  studying,  have  greater  docil- 
ity and  quickness  in  applying  themselves  to  work  5  and,  after  tlie  simplest  details  are  mas- 
tered, have  they  greater  aptitude,  dexterity,  or  ingenuity  in  comprehending  ordinary  pro- 
cesses, or  in  originating  new  ones  ?  Do  they  more  readily  or  frequently  devise  new  modes 
by  which  the  same  amount  of  work  can  be  better  done,  or  by  which  more  work  can  be  done 
in  the  same  time,  or  by  which  raw  material  or  motive-power  can  be  economized  ?  In  short, 
do  you  obtain  more  work  and  better  work  with  less  waste,  from  those  who  have  received 
what,  in  Mcissachusetts,  we  call  a  good  Common  School  education,  or  from  those  who  have 
grown  up  in  neglect  and  ignorance  ?  Is  there  any  difference  in  the  earnings  of  these  two 
classes,  and  consequently  in  their  wages  ?  3d.  What,  within  your  knowledge,  has  been  the 
effect  of  higher  degrees  of  mental  application  and  culture  upon  the  domestic  juid  social 
habits  of  persons  in  your  employment  ?  Is  this  class  more  cleanly  in  their  persons,  their 
dress,  and  their  households ;  and  do  they  enjoy  a  greater  immunity  from  those  diseases 
which  originate  in  a  want  of  personal  neatness  and  purity  ?  Are  they  more  exemplary  in 
their  deportment  and  conversation,  devoting  more  time  to  intellectual  pursuits  or  to  the  re- 
fining art  of  music,  and  spending  their  evenings  and  leisure  hours  more  with  their  families, 
and  less  at  places  of  resort  for  idle  and  dissipated  men  ?  Is  a  smaller  portion  of  them  ad- 
dicted to  intemperance  ?  Are  their  houses  kept  in  a  superior  condition  ?  Does  a  more  eco- 
nomical and  judicious  mode  of  living  purchase  greater  comforts  at  the  same  expense,  or 
equal  comforts  with  less  means  ?    Are  their  families  better  brought  up,  more  respectably 


113 

dressed,  more  regularly  attendant  upon  the  school  and  the  church  ;  and  do  their  children, 
when  arrived  at  j'ears  of  maturity,  enter  upon  the  active  scenes  of  life  with  better  prospects 
of  success  ?  ^th.  In  regard  to  standing  and  respectability  among  co-laborers,  neighbors, 
and  fellow-citizens  generally,  how  do  those  who  have  enjoyed  and  improved  the  privilege  of 
good  Common  Schools,  compare  with  the  neglected  and  the  illiterate  ?  Do  the  former  ex- 
ercise greater  influence  among  their  associates  ?  Are  Ihej'  more  often  applied  to  for  advice 
and  counsel  in  cases  of  difliculty ;  or  selected  as  umpires  or  arbitrators  for  the  decision  of 
minor  controversies  ?  Are  higher  and  more  intelligent  circles  for  acquaintance  open  to 
them,  from  conversation  and  intercourse  with  which  their  own  minds  can  be  constantly  im- 
proved ?  Are  they  more  likely  to  rise  from  grade  to  grade  in  the  scale  of  labor,  until  they 
enter  departments  where  greater  skill,  judgment,  and  responsibility  are  required,  and  which, 
therefore,  command  a  larger  remuneration  ?  Are  they  more  likely  to  rise  from  the  condi- 
tion of  employees,  and  to  establish  themselves  in  business  on  their  own  account?  5th. 
Have  you  observed  any  difference  in  the  classes  above-named,  (I  speak  of  them  as  classes, 
for  there  will,  of  course,  be  individual  exceptions,)  in  regard  to  punctuality  and  fidelity  in 
the  performance  of  duties  ?  Which  class  is  most  regardful  of  the  rights  of  others,  and  most 
intelligent  and  successful  in  securing  their  own  ?  You  will,  of  course,  perceive  that  tliis 
question  involves  a  more  general  one,  viz.,  from  which  of  the  above  described  classes,  have 
those  who  possess  property,  and  who  hope  to  transmit  it  to  their  children,  most  to  fear  from 
secret  aggression,  or  from  such  public  degeneracy  as  will  loosen  the  bands  of  society,  cor- 
rupt the  testimony  of  witnesses,  violate  the  sanctity  of  the  juror's  oath,  and  substitute,  as  a 
rule  of  right,  the  power  of  a  numerical  majority,  for  the  unvarj'ing  principles  of  justice.  6th. 
Finally,  in  regard  to  those  who  possess  the  largest  shares  in  the  stock  of  worldly  goods, 
could  there,  in  your  opinion,  be  any  police  so  vigilant  and  effective,  for  the  protection  of  all 
the  rights  of  person,  property,  and  character,  as  such  a  sound  and  comprehensive  education 
and  training  as  our  system  of  Common  Schools  could  be  made  to  impart ;  and  would  not 
the  payment  of  a  sufficient  tax  to  make  such  education  and  training  universal,  be  the  cheap- 
est means  of  self-protection  and  insurance  ?  And  in  regard  to  that  class  which,  from  the 
accident  of  birth  and  parentage,  are  subjected  to  the  privations  and  the  temptations  of  pov- 
erty, would  not  such  an  education  open  to  them  new  resources  in  habits  of  industry  and 
economy-,  in  increased  skill,  and  in  the  awakening  of  inventive  power,  which  would  yield  re- 
turns a  thousand  fold  greater  than  can  ever  be  hoped  for,  from  the  most  successful  clandes- 
tine depredations,  or  open  invasion  of  the  property  of  others  ? 

Extract  from  a  Circular  addressed  to  Physicians.  From  a  retrospect  of 
your  extensive  medical  practice,  and  from  your  observations  on  health  and  longevity,  I  trust 
you  will  be  able  to  arrive  at,  or  at  least  to  approximate,  some  pretty  definite  conclusion  res- 
pecting the  proportion  of  sickness,  physical  disability,  and  premature  death,  which  may  be 
fairly  attributed  to  an  ignorance  of  physiological  principles,  already  discovered,  and  which 
most  persons  would  avoid,  if  proper  attention  were  paid  to  early  education  and  habits.  Or. 
in  otlier  words, — in  the  present  state  of  the  science  of  Phj-siology,  how  great  a  proportion  of 
disease,  of  suffering,  of  a  diminution  of  the  phj'sical  capacity  of  usefulness,  and  of  the 
abridgment  of  life,  comes  from  sheer  ignorance,  (as  contradistinguished  from  that  which 
proceeds  from  causes  not  known,  or  from  inordinate  indulgences,)  and  which,  therefore,  we 
might  hope  to  see  averted,  if  the  community  had  that  degree  of  knowledge  which  is  easily 
attainable  by  all. 

By  so  doing,  I  think  you  will  furnish  a  powerful  argiunent  in  favor  of  making  those  condi- 
tions, on  %vhich  health  and  life  depend,  a  subject  of  study,  not  only  for  adults,  but  especially 
for  the  young ; — and,  in  order  to  reach  the  latter  class  as  extensively  as  possible,  you  would 
prove  the  expediency  of  introducing  the  study  of  Physiology  into  our  Common  Schools, 
after  the  primary  studies  have  been  mastered. 

204.  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  permanent  part  of  the 
Blank  Form  of  Inquiry  : 
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116 

205.  When  these  forms  ai-e  sent  out,  they  are  called  "  Blank 
Forms  of  Inquiry  ;"  when  returned  by  the  committees,  they 
are  called  "Returns." 

206.  If,  through  accident  or  mistake,  any  committee  should 
fail  to  receive  a  Blank  Form  of  Inquiry  on  or  before  the  last 
day  of  March,  it  is  their  duty  forthwith  to  give  notice  of  such 
failure  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  who  must  then  transmit 
such  blank  as  soon  as  may  be.  St.  1846,  ch.  223,  <§.  3.  1849, 
ch.  65,  "§>  1.  This  leaves  committees  without  any  excuse  for 
not  making  their  Returns  within  the  period  prescribed  by  law. 

207.  The  committees,  having  received  the  Blanks,  are  to 
take  the  Registers  which  have  been  kept  through  the  year,  to 
collate  and  condense,  (or  transcribe,  as  the  case  may  requne,) 
the  respective  entries  made  therein,  to  answer  all  the  inquiries 
which  the  blank  contains,  to  make  oath  to  a  certificate  of  the 
niunber  of  persons  between  the  ages  of  5  and  15,  within  the 
town,  on  the  first  day  of  the  preceding  May,  and  of  the  amount 
of  money  which  the  town  has  raised  by  tax  during  the  then 
current  year,  for  the  payment  of  the  wages  and  board  of  teach- 
ers, and  for  providing  fuel  for  the  schools,  to  sign  the  same,  by 
a  majority  at  least  of  their  members,  and  to  return  it  to  the 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  on  or  before  the  last  day  of 
April.     St.  1846,  ch.  223,  ^  2. 

In  order  to  make  the  Return  a  valid  one,  it  has  recently  been 
decided  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  (on  the  petition  of 
the  school  committee  of  Boston,  1845,)  that  said  Return  must 
be  signed  by  a  majority  of  the  committee. 

208.  But  whenever,  in  consequence  of  vacancies  occurring 
in  the  committee  of  any  city  or  town,  after  the  date  of  the 
warrant  for  the  annual  town  meeting  for  the  election  of  their 
successors,  or  the  inability,  arising  after  the  said  date,  of  any  of 
the  members  of  said  committee  to  act,  such  committee  shall  be 
reduced  to  a  minority  of  the  original  number,  the  remaining 
members  of  the  committee  are  competent  to  make  the  returns 
required  to  be  made  and  transmitted  to  the  office  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Commonwealth.  In  such  case,  however,  the  re- 
turns must  be  accompanied  by  a  certificate  of  the  person  or 
persons  so  making  them,  setting  forth  the  existence  of  such 


in 

vacancies  or  disabilities,  and  the  time  when  they  arose.     St. 
1849,  ch.  144. 

209.  If  the  respective  parties,  before  mentioned,  have  per- 
formed the  duties  required  of  them  by  law,  the  following 
things  have  now  been  done  : — 

1.  A  School  Register  has  been  prepared  by  the  Board  of 
Education,  and  a  number  of  copies  of  the  same  has  been  for- 
warded to  the  several  school  committees  sufficient  to  supply 
each  school  in  their  respective 'towns  with  one  copy. 

2.  The  committees  have  distributed  the  Registers  among 
the  teachers,  at  or  before  the  commencement  of  their  respective 
schools. 

3.  The  teachers  have  made  their  daily  entries  in  the  Reg- 
isters, and  each  teacher,  at  the  close  of  his  school,  has,  as  a 
condition  precedent  to  his  right  to  demand  payment  for  his  ser- 
vices, delivered  his  book  to  the  committee,  or  to  some  person 
authorized  by  them  to  receive  it. 

The  Board  of  Education  has  also  prepared  a  Blank  Form  of 
Inquiiy,  and  one  copy  of  the  same  has  been  transmitted  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Board  to  each  school  committee  in  the  State. 

5.  The  school  committee  have  taken  the  Registers  of  all 
the  schools  in  the  town,  collated  and  condensed  their  statistical 
items,  and  transferred  the  results  to  the  Blank  Form  of  Inquiry. 
They  have  also  answered  all  such  questions  as  may  have  been 
inserted  in  the  Forms,  have  authentic^ed  the  whole  by  the 
proper  signatures  and  certificates,  and  have  returned  the.  same, 
(on  or  before  the  last  day  of  April  of  each  year,)  to  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  use  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

It  is  obvious  that  a  vast  body  of  statistical  information,  com- 
prehensive, exact,  and  touching  all  the  vital  interests  of  the 
schools,  will  now  have  been  collected,  and  deposited  in  the 
hands  of  the  Board. 

SCHOOL  committees'  repoets. 

210.  But  there  is  another  fruitful  field  of  wisdom,  whose 
productions  have  not  yet  been  gathered. 

By  the  law  of  1838,  ch.  105,  <§>  1,  and  a  reenactment  of  the 


118 

same,  with  slight  modifications, — St.  1846,  ch.  223,  «§.  4, — the 
school  committees  of  all  the  towns  are  required  annually  to  make 
a  "detailed  report"  of  the  condition  of  the  several  Public 
Schools,  in  their  respective  towns,  which  report  shall  contain 
such  statements  and  suggestions  in  relation  to  these  schools  as 
the  said  committee  shall  deem  necessary  or  proper  to  promote 
the  interests  thereof.  This  report  is  to  be  read  before  the  as- 
sembled citizens,  at  an  annual  town  meeting  to  be  held  in  each 
town,  in  the  month  of  February,  March,  or  April  ;  or,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  school  committee,  to  be  printed  for  the  use  of 
the  inhabitants. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  by  virtue  of  the  above  provision,  the 
report  prepared  by  the  committee  must  be  either  read  in  open 
town  meeting,  or  printed  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  ;  and 
that  it  is  left  optional  with  the  committee  to  decide  which 
course  shall  be  taken. 

211.  The  law,  requiring  the  committee,  as  one  of  the  alter- 
natives of  their  duty,  to  print  their  report,  while  it  does  not 
prescribe  the  number  of  copies  to  be  printed,  leaves  the  deter- 
mination of  this  question,  of  course,  with  the  committee.  If 
they  exercise  their  discretion  in  an  unimpeachable  manner, 
their  decision  is  final  and  binds  the  town.  The  town  thereby 
becomes  liable  to  defray  all  the  necessary  expenses  incident  to 
the  printing  and  distribution  of  the  report. 

212.  The  report,  if  printed,  is  to  be  printed  "for  the  use  of 
the  inhabitants."  A  fair  construction  of  this  would  seem  to 
imply  that  one  copy  at  least  should  be  supplied  to  every  head 
of  a  family  or  householder  in  the  town,  and  to  every  voter, 
whether  or  not  he  might  be  the  head  of  a  family  or  a  house- 
holder, together  with  a  few  extra  copies  for  the  use  of  the 
committee,  to  enable  them  to  exchange  reports  with  the  com- 
mittees of  other  towns.  In  populous  cities,  where  it  cannot  be 
expected  that  every  householder  or  voter  would  read  the  re- 
port, a  less  number  may  be  sufficient. 

213.  The  original  report,  whether  read  in  open  town  meet- 
ing, or  printed  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants,  is  to  be  deposited 
in  the  office  of  the  town  clerk.  St.  1846,  ch.  223,  ^  4  ;  1838, 
ch.  105,  <^  1. 


119 

No  jurisdiction  or  control  over  this  report  seems  to  be  given  to 
the  town.  Tliey  may  accept  it  in  testimony  of  their  approval  ; 
but  they  have  no  authority  to  reject  it,  or  to  modify  it.  The 
law  points  out  the  path  which  the  original  report  must  take : — 
it  must  be  read  in  open  town  meeting,  or  be  printed  for  the 
use  of  the  inhabitants,  and  then  go  to  its  place  of  deposit  in 
the  office  of  the  town  clerk.  Neither,  on  the  other  hand,  has 
the  report,  as  such,  any  legal  force  or  validity.  It  may  recom- 
mend new  measures  or  propose  the  abolition  of  old  ones  ;  but, 
if  not  accepted  or  made  authoritative  and  binding  by  the  act 
of  the  town,  the  old  measures  will  continue  in  force,  and  the 
newly  proposed  ones  will  have  no  legal  existence. 

214.  The  school  committee  of  each  town  must  make  a  copy 
of  the  report  and  transmit  it  to  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  April.  This  copy  must  be 
certified  or  attested  ;  but  the  law  does  not  say  by  whom. 
Doubtless,  any  member  of  the  committee,  by  law  required  to 
make  the  report,  or  the  clerk  of  the  town,  who  is  made  the 
legal  depositary  of  it,  would  be  held  a  proper  certifying  officer, 
within  the  meaning  of  the  law.  St.  1846,  ch.  223,  ^  4;  1838, 
ch.  105,  <§>  1. 

SCHOOL    ABSTRACTS. 

215.  When  the  Returns, — which  were  described  above,  and 
which  embrace  all  the  statistics  of  the  schools, — together  with 
the  Reports  which  contain  the  committees'  "detailed"  state- 
ments of  the  condition  of  the  schools,  are  received  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  both  classes  of  documents 
are  handed  over  to  the  Board  of  Education.  From  these  doc- 
uments, the  Secretary  of  the  Board  prepares  a  volume,  entitled 
"The  Abstract  of  the  Massachusetts  School  Returns." 

216.  The  Reports  of  the  committees  are  all  carefully  read 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  and  selections  are  made  from 
them  of  such  parts  as  possess  the  greatest  interest  and  value, 
and  to  such  an  extent  as  is  compatible  with  the  limits  of  the 
volume  to  be  prepared.  In  his  office,  also,  the  Returns  are  all 
collated  and  condensed,  and  arranged  in  convenient  tabular 
forms,  so  as  to  show,  as  far  as  statistics  can  show  it,  both  the 


120 

actual  and  relative  condition  of  the  schools,  in  every  town  in 
the  State.     St.  1838,  ch.  105,  v§,  7. 

217.  It  is  obvious,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  the  sta- 
tistical returns  of  our  schools,  if  accurately  made,  and  made  by 
all  the  towns  in  the  State,  must  possess  an  intrinsic  and  perma- 
nent value.  The  tables,  (if  prepared  as  they  have  hitherto 
been,)  will  show  the  population  and  valuation  of  each  town, 
and  the  number  of  persons  belonging  to  it  between  the  ages  of 
5  and  15  years.  Thus  they  give  direct  and  authentic  informa- 
tion of  the  number  of  children  to  be  provided  for,  and  of  the 
extent  of  the  town's  pecuniary  resources,  from  which  its  ability 
to  make  provision  arises.  They  will  show  the  number  of  Public 
Schools  in  each  town,  the  whole  number  of  children  Avho 
have  attended  these  schools  at  any  time  during  the  year  :  how 
many  of  them  were  between  the  ages  of  5  and  15  years,  how 
many  were  under  5  and  how  many  were  over  15  ;  and,  in  con- 
nection with  these  items,  they  also  show  the  average  number 
in  attendance.  They  show  the  aggregate  length  of  all  the 
schools  in  each  town,  both  for  the  summer  and  winter  terms, 
and  the  number  of  teachers  in  each  town  and  their  sex.  They 
show  the  average  compensation  made  to  teachers,  both  male 
and  female,  and  the  value  of  their  board.  They  show  the 
amount  of  money  raised  by  tax  in  each  town,  and,  as  the 
amount  of  the  valuation  of  each  town  is  also  given,  it  is  easy 
to  determine  what  percentage  the  respective  towns  levy  upon 
themselves  for  this  object.  The  number  of  children  between 
5  and  15  being  also  given,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  much  the 
towns  raised  per  capita  for  the  education  of  the  children  within 
them.  If  the  inhabitants  of  any  town  have  the  public  spirit 
which  prompts  them  to  contribute  something,  cither  in  the 
way  of  supplying  board  for  the  teachers,  or  fuel  for  the  schools, 
beyond  the  regular  appropriation  made  by  the  town  in  its  cor- 
porate capacity,  that  amount  also  appears  ;  and  if  there  are  any 
funds  or  revenues  devoted  by  any  town  to  this  purpose,  the 
town  is  credited  with  their  amount. 

218.  The  existence  of  any  other  educational  means  is  also 
recognized  and  reported.  The  number  of  incorporated  acade- 
mies, with  the  number  of  months  they  may  have  been  kept 


121 

during  the  year,  the  average  number  of  scholars  belonging  to 
them,  and  the  aggregate  paid  for  tuition  therein  ;  the  number 
of  private  schools  of  all  kinds,  together  with  the  number  of 
months  kept,  average  of  scholars,  and  aggregate  of  tuition, — 
all  have  their  appropriate  heads,  and  are  matters  of  distinct 
statement.  From  these  last-mentioned  items,  it  may  be  seen, 
at  a  glance,  whether  the  academies  of  the  State  are  in  a  flour- 
ishing or  a  declining  condition,  and  whether  the  private  schools, 
in  any  town,  are  gaining  upon  and  supplanting  the  Public 
Schools,  or  whether  the  spirit  of  republicanism  and  Christianity 
is  gradually  levelling  up  the  privileges  of  the  poorer  classes  to 
an  equality  with  those  of  their  more  wealthy  townsmen. 

For  a  complete  specimen  of  the  Statistical  Tables,  as  they 
are  annually  prepared,  see  Appendix. 

219.  The  Reports  of  the  committees  embrace  a  species  of 
information  which  statistics  can  never  exhibit.  If  the  commit- 
tees have  performed  their  duty,  they  have  thoroughly  exam- 
ined every  teacher  before  he  was  allowed  to  enter  his  school. 
They  have  made  themselves  acquainted  not  only  with  the  text 
books  already  in  the  schools,  but  with  such  of  their  competitors 
for  public  favor  as  present  any  reasonable  claims  to  superiority. 
They  have  visited  all  the  schools  within  their  jurisdiction,  both 
summer  and  winter, — once  shortly  after  their  commencement, 
to  ascertain  their  condition  ;  once  each  month  during  their  prog- 
ress, to  inspect,  to  counsel,  and  to  encourage ;  and  once  near 
their  close,  to  winnow  the  chaif  from  the  wheat,  by  a  thorough 
examination.  At  these  visitations,  they  have  had  an  opportu- 
nity to  learn  the  condition  of  the  schoolhouse  and  its  appurte- 
nances, and  to  determine  their  fitness  or  unfitness  as  a  place  for 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  growth.  They  have  had  an  op- 
portunity to  observe  the  manners  of  the  teacher  in  his  inter- 
course with  the  children, — to  learn  whether  he  has  been  actu- 
ated by  a  proper  spirit  in  the  relation  which  he  has  sustained 
to  the  future  citizens  of  a  republic  and  to  heirs  of  immortality, 
and  whether  he  has  had  the  tact  and  the  talent  successfully  to 
execute  the  good  things  he  may  have  devised  for  their  benefit. 
They  have  had  an  opportunity  to  ascertain  on  what  principles 
the  school  has  been  classified,  the  regular  or  irregular  attend- 
16 


122 

aiice  of  the  scholars,  then*  supply  or  deficiency  of  text  books, 
the  presence  or  absence  of  black-boards,  charts,  maps,  globes, 
and  other  apparatus,  the  possession  or  non-possession  of  a 
school  library,  and  so  forth.  They  have  had  an  opportunity  to 
know  whether  the  irrevocable  lapse  of  a  most  important  period 
of  the  pupils'  lives  has  left  its  equivalent  of  improvement  be- 
hind it, — in  fine,  whether  the  teacher  has  carried  the  children 
successfully  forward  through  one  of  the  stages  of  that  immense 
distance  that  lies  between  the  weakness,  the  ignorance,  and 
the  irresponsibility  of  infancy,  and  the  power,  the  knowledge, 
and  the  majestic  and  glorious  attributes  of  full-developed  man- 
hood. 

220.  Nor  has  the  attention  of  the  faithful  and  intelligent 
school  committee  been  circumscribed  even  within  the  ample 
outline  of  duties  above  denoted.  They  have  inquired  what 
has  been  done  in  other  towns,  and  with  what  results  of  success 
or  of  failure,  and  they  have  investigated  the  causes  of  either ; 
they  have  cautiously  experimented,  wherever  the  probabilities 
of  reason  or  the  preponderance  of  testimony  gave  hope  of  im- 
provement ;  and  they  have  critically  examined  into  all  those 
external  relations,  those  circumstances  of  the  neighborhood, 
which  bear  with  favorable  or  Avith  adverse  influence  upon  the 
schools.  Surveying  the  vast  interests  intrusted  to  their  care, 
foreseeing  the  mighty  events  to  be  one  day  evolved  from  in- 
ceptive processes,  now  so  minute,  and,  to  most  minds,  so  triv- 
ial, and  pervaded  by  a  sense  of  religious  obligation  for  the 
faithful  discharge  of  their  duties,  the  committee  have  sought 
for  wisdom  as  for  hid  treasure,  and  have  studied  to  turn  all 
their  acquisitions  to  practical  account. 

It  is  under  these  circumstances,  that  the  faithful  committee 
sit  down  to  deliberate  upon  and  to  prepare  their  report.  They 
award  personal  commendation  or  censure ;  they  point  out  im- 
provements and  defects  in  modes  or  systems ;  they  detail  the 
results  of  experiments,  whether  successful  or  unsuccessful  ; 
they  propose  changes,  or  give  their  reasons  for  adhering  to  ex- 
isting usages ;  in  fine, — having  formed  opinions,  by  the  aid  of 
experience,  observation,  and  study, — they  seek  to  advance 
those  opinions  from  theory  to  practice. 


123 

221.  Beyond  any  thing  hitherto  spoken  of,  it  must  also  be 
mentioned,  that  one  most  conspicuous  and  far-shining  quality, 
in  many  of  the  committees'  reports,  has  been  their  eloquent 
advocacy  of  the  precious  and  enduring  interests  connected 
with  our  Common  Schools ; — not  any  brilliant  declamation  or 
rhetorical  artifices  do  I  mean ;  but  there  has  been  a  calm  and 
steady  transfusion  into  the  public  mind  of  the  great  thoughts 
which  belong  to  this  great  theme,  until  many,  who  before 
looked  upon  the  institution  as  valueless,  or  even  as  oppressive, 
have  come  to  regard  it  as  containing  the  only  guaranties  of 
liberty,  order,  and  law.  Just  in  proportion  as  the  community 
has  appreciated  this  interest,  it  has  itself  been  elevated.  Such, 
indeed,  is  the  effect  with  which  nature  invariably  rewards  the 
attainment  of  any  new  truth.  Truth  enfranchises  its  recipient. 
It  gives  prerogatives  and  dominion  unknown  before ;  and, 
wherever  it  restrains,  it  makes  its  disciple  see  that  the  freedom 
of  which  he  before  boasted  was  but  bondage.  The  devotee  of 
sensual  and  sordid  propensities,  if  once  he  can  be  made  to  taste 
the  refined  and  exquisite  gratifications  of  generosity  and  no- 
bleness, will  turn  and  dash  in  pieces  the  idol  pleasures  which 
before  he  had  worshipped  as  gods. 

222.  The  Reports  of  the  committees,  containing  the  ma- 
tured results  of  their  observation  and  experience,  and  the  Re- 
turns, comprising  the  statistics  of  the  schools,  being  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  are  the 
materials  from  which  the  Annual  Abstract  is  compiled.  Hith- 
erto the  volumes  of  Abstracts  have  averaged  nearly  or  quite 
three  hundred  closely  printed  octavo  pages.  The  number  of 
copies  of  the  Abstract,  which  are  to  be  printed  for  distribution, 
has  never  been  determined  by  law.  The  customary  number, 
since  they  were  first  required  to  be  printed,  has  been  1750. 
When  ready  for  distribution,  one  copy  is  given  to  each  mem- 
ber of  the  Legislature,  so  that  the  rulers  of  the  State  may  have 
the  means  of  knowing  the  condition  of  its  schools,  and  be  ex- 
culpated from  the  criminality  of  that  ignorance  and  indiffer- 
ence which  attach  to  so  vast  a  proportion  of  all  the  legislators 
of  the  country,  whether  State  or  National.  One  copy  is  sent 
to  each  town  and  city  clerk,  and  two  or  more  copies  to  each 


124 

board  of  school  committee  men  in  the  Commonwealth.  Thus 
each  toAvn  and  each  school  committee,  in  requital  for  its  own 
contribution  to  the  common  stock,  receives  back  the  views, 
plans,  suggestions,  and  experimental  results,  of  all  the  other 
committees  in  the  State.  The  light  emanating  from  each  town 
is  concentrated  in  a  focus,  from  which  its  whole  radiance  is  re- 
flected back  to  every  point,  whence  any  beam  of  it  was  origi- 
nally rayed  forth. 

In  reading  the  reports  from  year  to  year,  it  has  been  inter- 
esting to  remark,  how  a  voice  of  wisdom  emanating  from  one 
committee,  perhaps  in  a  remote  or  obscure  section  of  the  State, 
would,  the  succeeding  year,  be  echoed  back  from  a  hundred 
points ;  and  how  an  original  or  important  suggestion,  thrown 
out  for  consideration  in  one  tOAvn,  Avould  come  back,  the  sub- 
sequent year,  reported  upon  as  tried  by  the  test  of  experiment, 
and  ratified.  In  some  instances,  two  different  towns  have  tried 
the  same  experiment  with  dilferent  results,  and  hence,  have 
sent  forth  opposite  opinions  respecting  its  utility.  Upon  this 
conflict  of  testimony,  a  third  town  has  re-subjected  the  case  to 
experiment,  detected  the  causes  of  the  different  results  which 
had  been  reported,  and  determined  more  accurately  the  condi- 
tions of  success. 

In  only  one  instance  has  there  been  too  free  a  use,  by  any 
committee,  of  the  labors  of  others.  In  that  case,  an  entii*e 
report,  made  in  a  previous  year  by  the  committee  of  a  distant 
town,  was  transcribed,  without  alteration  or  acknowledgment, 
and  submitted  as  original, — a  bold,  bald,  unmitigated,  uncon- 
scionable plagiarism  ! 

REPORTS    OF    THE    BOARD    OF    EDUCATION,    AND    ITS    SECRETARY. 

223.  Another  instrumentality  provided  by  the  Legislature 
for  diffusing  information,  not  only  on  the  subject  of  Common 
Schools,  in  particular,  but  on  the  general  principles  of  educa- 
tion and  on  educational  systems,  is  the  following  : — 

By  the  act  establishing  the  Board  of  Education,  they  were 
authorized  to  appoint  a  Secretary,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to 
"  collect  information,"  &c.  See  ante,  186.  St.  1837,  ch.  241, 
<^2. 


125 

224.  By  the  same  act,  the  Board  of  Education  was  required, 
annually,  to  '^  make  a  detailed  report  to  the  Legislature  of  all 
its  doings,  with  such  observations  as  their  experience  and  re- 
flection might  suggest,  upon  the  condition  and  efiiciency  of 
our  system  of  Popular  Education,  and  the  most  practicable 
means  of  improving  and  extending  it."     St.   1837,  ch.  241, 

225.  By  the  act  of  1849,  ch.  65,  *§.  1,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Board  is  required,  among  other  things,  to  forward  to  the  sher- 
iffs "  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education,  cmd  that 
of  its  Secretary y  This  clearly  implies  that  it  is  now  the  legal 
duty,  as  it  has  heretofore  been  the  practice,  of  the  Secretary, 
to  make  an  Annual  Report. 

226.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  clerk  of  the  Senate,  for  the  time 
being,  to  cause  to  be  printed  annually,  before  the  meeting  of 
the  Legislature,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be,  eight  thou- 
sand copies  of  the  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education,  three 
thousand  copies  of  which  are  to  be  reserved  for  the  members 
of  the  Legislature.     Resolve,  1849,  ch.  52. 

227.  It  has  been  before  mentioned  that  all  documents,  sent 
out  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Board,  are  to  be  sent  to  the  sheriff's 
of  the  respective  counties.     Ante,  195.     St.  1849,  ch.  65,  <§.  1. 

228.  These  documents  are  to  be  distributed,  by  each  sheriff", 
to  the  clerks  of  the  cities  and  towns  within  his  county,  for 
which  service  he  is  entitled  to  receive  three  cents  a  copy,  to 
be  paid  by  the  treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth.     lb. 

229.  When  the  clerks  of  the  several  cities  and  towns  receive 
the  documents  so  transmitted,  they  are  to  deliver  the  blank 
Forms  of  Inquiry  and  the  Registers  to  the  school  committee. 
St.  1849,  ch.  65,  *§>  2.  They  are  also  to  deliver  one  copy  of  the 
Annual  Abstract  of  School  Returns  and  one  copy  of  the  Re- 
port of  the  Board  of  Education  and  of  its  Secretary,  to  the  sec- 
retary of  the  school  committee,  to  be  by  him  carefully  kept  for 
the  use  of  the  committee,  and  handed  over  to  his  successor  in 
office ;  and  also  two  additional  copies  of  said  reports  for  the 
use  of  said  committee  ;  and  it  is  further  the  duty  of  said  clerks 
to  deliver  one  copy  of  the  said  report  to  the  clerk  of  each  of 
the  school  districts  in  his  city  or  town,  to  be  by  said  district 


126 

clerk  deposited  in  the  district  school  library,  if  there  be  one, 
and  if  not,  to  be  carefully  kept  by  himself  for  the  use  of  the 
prudential  committee,  the  teachers,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
district,  during  his  continuance  in  office,  and  then  to  be  handed 
over  to  his  successor ;  £ind  in  case  the  city  or  town  shall  not 
be  districted,  the  said  reports  shall  be  delivered  to  the  school 
committee,  and  so  placed  by  them  that  they  shall  be  access- 
ible to  the  several  teachers  and  to  the  citizens ;  and  said  re- 
ports shall  be  deemed  to  be  the  property  of  the  city  or  town, 
and  not  of  any  officer,  teacher,  or  citizen  thereof.  St.  1849, 
eh.  65,  <^  2. 

All  the  direct  means  for  diffusing  information  among  the 
citizens  at  large,  on  the  subject  of  schools  and  of  education, 
have  now  been  enumerated. 

Among  other  provisions  for  increasing  the  efficiency  of  our 
schools,  are  the  laws  and  resolves  on  the  subject  of  Apparatus, 
District  School  Libraries,  State  Normal  Schools,  Teachers'  In- 
stitutes, «fcc. 

SCHOOL    LIBRARIES    AND    APPARATUS. 

230.  The  inhabitants  of  any  school  district,  in  any  city  or 
town,  and  of  any  city  or  town  not  divided  into  school  districts, 
may,  at  any  meeting  called  for  that  purpose,  raise  money  for 
the  purchase  of  libraries  and  necessary  school  apparatus,  in  the 
same  manner  as  school  districts  may  now  raise  money  for 
erecting  and  repairing  schoolhouses  in  their  respective  districts. 
St.  1849,  ch.  81,  <§>  1. 

231.  In  addition  to  the  above  liberal  provisions,  the  State 
offers  a  bounty  to  encourage  the  purchase  of  school  libraries, 
on  the  following  conditions  : — 

Each  school  district,  in  every  town  legally  divided  into 
school  districts,  however  small  may  be  the  number  of  the  chil- 
dren belonging  to  it,  on  exhibiting  proof  to  the  treasurer  of  the 
Commonwealth  that  it  has  raised  and  appropriated  the  sum  of 
fifteen  dollars  or  more  for  a  district  school  library,  is  entitled  to 
receive  fifteen  dollars  from  said  treasurer,  to  be  expended  for 
the  same  object.    Said  moneys  are  to  be  paid  over  by  the  treas- 


127 

urer  to  the  order  of  the  selectmen  of  the  town,  or  the  mayor  of 
the  city,  in  which  such  district  is  situated.  Resolve,  March  3, 
1842. 

232.  If  any  school  district  has  twice  sixty  children  between 
the  ages  of  4  and  16  years,  and  shall  produce  evidence  to  the 
treasurer  that  it  has  raised  and  appropriated,  for  a  school  li- 
brary, twice  fifteen  dollars,  then,  and  on  the  same  terms  and 
conditions  as  above  specified,  it  is  entitled  to  draw  from  the 
treasurer  twice  fifteen  dollars,  for  the  same  purpose.  Any  dis- 
trict containing  three  times  sixty  scholars  between  the  ages  of 
4  and  16,  four  times  sixty,  or  any  higher  number  of  times  sixty, 
has  the  same  ratable  or  proportional  claim  upon  the  treasurer, 
on  exhibiting  the  same  proof  of  its  title.  Resolves,  March  7, 
1843,  and  March  11,  1844. 

233.  Any  town  or  city  in  the  Commonwealth,  whose  terri- 
tory is  not  legally  divided  into  school  districts,  on  producing 
evidence  to  the  treasurer  that  it  has  raised  and  appropriated  for 
school  libraries  as  many  times  fifteen  dollars,  as  the  number 
sixty  is  contained,  exclusive  of  fractions,  in  the  number  of 
children  between  4  and  16  years  of  age  belonging  to  such 
town  or  city,  is  entitled  to  receive  from  said  treasurer,  to  be 
expended  for  the  same  purpose,  as  many  times  fifteen  dollars, 
as  the  number  sixty  is  contained  in  the  number  of  its  children 
between  the  above-mentioned  ages.     Resolve,  March  7,  1843. 

234.  For  special  provisions  in  regard  to  school  libraries  for 
the  schools  of  the  city  of  Boston,  see  Resolve,  March  25,  1845. 

235.  The  question  has  been  once  or  twice  asked,  and  under 
circumstances  which  authorized  the  suspicion  that  some  ul- 
terior action  was  contemplated,  whether  a  school  district,  after 
having  received  and  expended  the  bounty  of  the  State  for  the 
purchase  of  a  school  library,  could  then  sell  the  library  and 
dispose  of  the  money  for  any  other  purpose, — either  by  divid- 
ing it  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  district,  or  in  any  other 
way.  Disclaiming  all  authority  and  desire  to  adjudicate  upon 
the  merits  of  such  a  case,  I  have,  nevertheless,  expressed  the 
individual  opinion,  that  any  disposition  of  a  library,  purchased 
in  part  by  means  derived  from  the  State,  for  any  other  purpose 
than  that  of  re-investing  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  in  other  libra- 
ry books,  would  not  be  warranted  by  law. 


128 

The  object  and  intent  of  the  law  evidently  were  to  establish 
a  library  for  the  benefit  of  the  school  district.  A  school  dis- 
trict has  the  nature  and  qualities  of  a  perpetual  corporation. 
The  library,  therefore,  was  as  much  designed  for  those  who  are 
to  belong  to  the  district  in  future,  as  for  those  who  are  now 
members  of  it.  Hence,  each  district  holds  its  library  not  only 
for  the  benefit  of  the  children  now  belonging  to  it,  but  for  the 
benefit  of  their  successors.  To  dispose  of  it,  therefore,  and 
appropriate  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  for  any  other  purpose,  even 
though  in  itself  a  laudable  one,  would  seem  to  be  a  breach  of 
trust ;  and,  if  so,  it  would,  of  coiurse,  be  unlawful.  The  Legis- 
lature of  the  State  doubtless  has  power, — should  it  ever  see 
good  reason, — for  granting  a  dispensation. 

236.  It  is  supposed  that  a  town  would  have  no  more  right 
than  a  district  to  abolish  its  school  libraries,  after  having  availed 
itself  of  the  bounty  of  the  State  for  their  procurement. 

237.  Any  town  or  district,  being  the  legal  owner  of  a  school 
library,  has,  according  to  the  principles  of  the  common  law,  a 
right  to  make  all  reasonable  rules  and  regulations  for  its  care 
and  management. 

STATE    N0R3IA1,    SCHOOLS, 

238.  One  of  the  most  efficient  agencies  for  improving  not 
only  the  Common  Schools,  but  all  the  schools  in  the  State,  has 
been  the  State  Normal  Schools. 

In  a  communication  made  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Education  to  the  Legislature,  dated  March  12,  1838,  it  was 
stated  that  private  munificence  had  placed  at  his  disposal  the 
sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  to  be  expended,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Board  of  Education,  for  qualifying  teachers  for  our 
Common  Schools,  on  condition  that  the  Legislature  would 
place  in  the  hands  of  the  Board  an  equal  sum,  to  be  expended 
for  the  same  purpose. 

On  the  19th  day  of  April  of  the  same  year,  resolves  were 
passed,  accepting  the  proposition,  and  authorizing  the  Governor, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Council,  to  draw  his  war- 
rant upon  the  treasurer  for  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  to 
be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Board  for  the  purpose  specified 
in  the  communication  made  by  the  Secretary. 


129 

239.  The  Board,  after  mature  deliberation,  decided  to  estab- 
lish three  Normal  Schools, — one  for  the  northeastern,  one  for 
the  southeastern,  and  one  for  the  western  part  of  the  State. 
Accordingly,  one  was  opened  at  Lexington,  in  the  county  of 
Middlesex,  on  the  3d  day  of  July,  1839.  This  school,  having 
outgrown  its  accommodations  at  Lexington,  was  removed  to 
West  Newton,  in  the  same  county,  in  September,  1S44,  where 
it  now  occupies  a  commodious  building. 

The  second  Normal  School  was  opened  at  Barre,  in  the 
county  of  Worcester,  on  the  4th  day  of  September,  1839. 
This  school  has  since  been  removed  to  Westfield,  in  the  comity 
of  Hampden,  both  on  account  of  the  insufficiency  of  the  ac- 
commodations at  Barre,  and  because  the  latter  place  is  situated 
far  east  of  the  centre  of  population  of  the  western  counties. 

The  thu'd  school  was  opened  at  Bridgewater,  on  the  9th  day 
of  September,  1840,  and  is  permanently  located  at  that  place. 

240.  For  the  two  last-named  schools,  there  had  been,  from 
the  beginning,  very  inadequate  schoolroom  accommodations. 
In  the  winter  of  1845,  a  memorial,  on  behalf  of  certain  friends 
of  education  in  the  city  of  Boston  and  its  vicinity,  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Legislature,  offering  the  sum  of  five  thousand 
dollars,  to  be  obtained  by  private  subscription,  on  condition 
that  the  Legislature  would  give  an  equal  sum,  for  the  purpose 
of  erecting  two  Normal  Schoolhouses, — one  for  the  school  at 
Westfield  and  one  for  that  at  Bridgewater.  By  resolves  of 
March  20,  1845,  the  proposition  of  the  memorialists  was  ac- 
cepted and  the  grant  made ;  and  by  the  same  resolves  it  was 
ordered,  "that  the  schools,  heretofore  known  as  Normal  Schools, 
shall  be  hereafter  designated  as  State  Normal  Schools." 

241.  The  school  at  West  Newton  is  appropriated  exclusively 
to  females ;  those  at  Bridgewater  and  Westfield  admit  both 
sexes. 

242.  Among  the  standing  regulations  adopted  by  tlie  Board, 
for  the  government  of  the  State  Normal  Schools,  are  the  fol- 
lowing : — most  of  which  were  adopted  in  the  begimiing,  and 
have  been  constantly  in  force, — only  a  few  modifications,  and 
those  very  slight  ones,  having  since  been  introduced. 

Admission.     As  a  prerequisite  to  admission,  candidates  must 
17 


130 

declare  it  to  be  their  intention  to  qualify  themselves  to  become 
school  teachers.  If  they  belong  to  the  State,  or  have  an  inten- 
tion and  a  reasonable  expectation  of  keeping  school  in  the 
State,  tuition  is  gratuitous.  Otherwise,  a  tuition-fee  is  charged, 
which  is  intended  to  be  about  the  same  as  is  usually  charged 
at  good  academies  in  the  same  neighborhood.  If  pupils,  after 
having  completed  a  course  of  study  at  the  State  Normal  Schools, 
immediately  engage  in  school-keeping  out  of  the  State,  or  in  a 
private  school  or  an  academy,  they  are  considered  as  having 
waived  the  privilege  growing  out  of  their  declared  intention  to 
keep  a  Common  School  in  Massachusetts,  and  are  held  bound 
in  honor  to  pay  a  tuition-fee  for  their  instruction. 

If  males,  pupils  must  have  attained  the  age  of  seventeen 
years  complete,  and  of  sixteen,  if  females  ;  and  they  must  be 
free  from  any  disease  or  infirmity,  which  would  unfit  them  for 
the  office  of  school  teachers. 

They  must  undergo  an  examination,  and  prove  themselves 
to  be  well  versed  in  orthography,  reading,  writing,  English 
grammar,  geography,  and  arithmetic. 

They  must  furnish  satisfactory  evidence  of  good  intellectual 
capacity  and  of  high  moral  character  and  principles. 

Examinations  for  admission  take  place  at  the  commencement 
of  each  term,  of  which  there  are  three  in  a  year. 

Term  of  Study.  At  West  Newton  and  Bridgewater,  the 
minimum  of  the  term  of  study  is  one  year,  and  this  must  be 
in  consecutive  terms  of  the  schools.  In  regard  to  the  school 
at  Westfield.  owing  to  the  unwillingness  of  the  pupils  in  that 
section  of  the  State  to  remain  at  the  school  even  for  so  short 
a  time  as  one  year,  the  rule  requiring  a  year's  residence  has 
been  from  time  to  time  suspended.  It  is  found  to  be  univer- 
sally tnie,  that  those  applicants,  whose  qualifications  are  best, 
are  desirous  to  remain  at  the  school  longest. 

Course  of  Study.  The  studies  first  to  be  attended  to,  in 
the  State  Normal  Schools,  are  those  which  the  law  requires  to 
be  taught  in  the  district  schools,  namely,  orthography,  reading, 
writing,  English  grammar,  geography,  and  arithmetic.  When 
these  are  mastered,  those  of  a  higher  order  are  progressively 
taken. 


131 

For  those  pupils  who  wish  to  remain  at  the  school  more 
than  one  year,  and  for  all  belonging  to  the  schools,  so  far  as 
their  previous  attainments  will  permit,  the  following  course  is 
arranged  : — 

1.  Orthography,  reading,  grammar,  composition,  rhetoric,  and 
logic. 

2.  Writing,  drawing. 

3.  Arithmetic,  mental  and  written,  algebra,  geometry,  book- 
keeping, navigation,  surveying. 

4.  Geography,  ancient  and  modern,  with  chronology,  statis- 
tics, and  general  history. 

5.  Human  Physiology,  and  Hygiene,  or  the  Laws  of  Health. 

6.  Mental  Philosophy. 

7.  Music. 

S.  Constitution  and  History  of  Massachusetts  and  of  the 
United  States. 

9.  Natural  Philosophy  and  Astronomy. 

10.  Natural  History. 

11.  The  Principles  of  piety  and  morality  common  to  all  sects 
of  Christians. 

12.  The  science  and  art  of  teaching  with  reference  to 

ALL    the    above-named    STUDIES, 

Religious  Exercises.  A  portion  of  the  Scriptures  shall  be 
read  daily  in  every  State  Normal  School. 

Visiters.  Each  Normal  School  is  under  the  immediate  in- 
spection of  a  Board  of  Visiters,  who  are  in  all  cases  to  be  mem- 
bers of  the  Board  of  Education,  except  that  the  Secretary  of 
the  Board  may  be  appointed  as  one  of  the  visiters  of  each 
school. 

The  Board  appoints  one  Principal  Instructor  for  each  school, 
who  is  responsible  for  its  government  and  instruction,  subject 
to  the  rules  of  the  Board,  and  the  supervision  of  the  visiters. 
The  visiters  of  the  respective  schools  appoint  the  assistant  in- 
structors thereof. 

243.  To  each  Normal  School  an  Experimental  or  Model 
School  is  attached.  This  school  is  under  the  control  of  the 
Principal  of  the  Normal  School.  The  pupils  of  the  Normal 
School  assist  in  teaching  it.     Here,  the  knowledge  which  they 


132 

acquire  in  the  science  of  teaching  is  practically  applied.  The 
art  is  made  to  grow  out  of  the  science,  instead  of  being  empiri- 
cal. The  Principal  of  the  Normal  School  inspects  the  Model 
School,  more  or  less,  daily.  He  observes  the  manner  in  which 
his  own  pupils  exemplify,  in  practice,  the  principles  he  has 
taught  them.  Sometimes,  all  the  pupils  of  the  Normal  School, 
together  with  the  Principal,  visit  the  Model  School  in  a  body, 
to  observe  the  manner  in  which  the  teachers  of  the  latter,  for 
the  time  being,  conduct  the  recitations  or  exercises.  Then, 
returning  to  their  own  schoolroom,  in  company  with  the  assist- 
ant teachers  themselves,  who  have  been  the  objects  of  inspec- 
tion, each  one  is  called  upon  to  deliver  his  views,  whether  com- 
mendatory or  otherwise,  respecting  the  manner  in  which  the 
work  has  been  performed.  At  this  amicable  exposition  of 
merits  and  defects,  the  Principal  of  the  Normal  School  presides. 
After  all  others  have  presented  their  views,  he  delivers  his  own  ; 
and  thus  his  pupils,  at  the  threshold  of  their  practice,  have  an 
opportmiity  to  acquire  confidence  in  a  good  course,  of  which 
they  might  otherwise  entertain  doubts,  and  to  rectify  errors 
which  otherwise  would  fossilize  into  habit. 

The  salaries  of  the  teachers  of  the  State  Normal  Schools 
aie  paid  by  the  State. 

244.  An  appropriation  of  seven  thousand  dollars  a  year, 
(by  a  Resolve  which  will  expire  in  April,  1852,)  is  made  for 
the  support  of  the  Normal  Schools.     Resolve,  1849,  ch.  89. 

teachers'  institutes. 

245.  Teachers'  Institutes  are  assemblies  of  teachers,  of  one 
or  of  both  sexes,  for  the  purpose  of  being  taught.  In  other 
words,  a  Teachers'  Institute  is  a  school  composed  of  teachers, 
and  of  persons  intending  to  become  such,  who  assemble  to 
spend  a  longer  or  a  shorter  time  together,  for  the  purpose  of 
improvement  in  the  art  of  teaching.  The  duration  of  the 
meeting  is  not  fixed.  It  is  longer  or  shorter,  according  to  the 
ability  and  zeal  of  the  members.  It  is  not  known  that  any 
one  has  been  held  for  a  shorter  period  than  one  week.  Some 
have  continued  six  weeks.  As  an  instrumentality  adapted  to 
the  improvement  of  teachers  at  large,  Institutes  were  first  in- 


133 

troduced  in  the  state  of  New  York.  They  are  now  held  in 
various  states, — New  York,  Massachusetts,  Maine,  Connecticut, 
Rhode  Island,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Ohio,  Michigan, 
Pennsylvania,  and  perhaps  others. 

246.  Massachusetts  was  the  first  State  to  afford  legislative 
encouragement  to  Teachers'  Institutes.  The  sum  of  twenty- 
five  hundred  dollars  a  year  is  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  to  defray  certain  expenses  incident  to  this 
class  of  meetings.     St.  1846,  ch.  99,  <§>  3. 

247.  Whenever  "reasonable  assurance"  is  given  to  the 
Board,  that  a  number  of  teachers  of  Common  Schools,  not  less 
than  fifty,  shall  desire  to  assemble  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
a  Teachers'  Institute,  and  to  remain  in  session  for  such  period 
of  time  as  the  Board  shall  determine,  then  the  Board,  by  a 
committee,  or  by  their  Secretary,  or,  in  case  of  his  inability, 
by  such  person  or  persons  as  they  may  delegate,  are  to  appoint 
a  time  and  place  for  a  meeting,  make  suitable  arrangements 
therefor,  and  give  due  notice  thereof.  St.  1846,  ch.  99,  <§.  1 ; 
1848,  ch.  10  ;   1849,  ch.  62. 

248.  The  Board,  or  their  committee  or  appointee,  must  en- 
gage teachers  and  lecturers  for  each  Institute  that  may  be 
called  ;  provide  rooms,  fires,  lights,  attendance,  and  so  forth  ;  but 
for  these  purposes,  they  are  not  authorized  to  expend  on  any  one 
Institute  a  greater  sum  than  two  hundred  dollars.  By  a  regu- 
lation of  the  Board,  the  personal  expenses  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Board,  incurred  in  calling  and  attending  the  Institutes,  may 
be  defrayed  from  said  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars  ;  but  no 
extra  allowance  is  made  for  his  services.  The  personal  ex- 
penses of  the  members  for  travel,  board,  and  so  forth,  are  to  be 
defrayed  by  themselves. 

249.  The  committee  of  the  Board,  its  Secretary,  or,  in  his 
absence,  the  person  appointed  by  them,  or  him,  stands  in  the 
same  relation  to  the  Institute  in  which  a  teacher  stands  to  his 
school. 

250.  The  instruction  at  the  Institutes  is  designed  to  be  of 
such  a  character  as  shall  furnish  a  model  for  Common  School 
exercises,  although  the  former  will  naturally  partake  more  of 
the  oral  method  than  the  latter.     Owing  to  the  shortness  of 


134 

the  time  during  which  the  Institutes  are  usually  held,  they  can 
do  but  little  besides  giving  some  practical  skill, — some  knowl- 
edge of  the  art  of  teaching.  For  a  mastery  of  principles,  or 
an  indoctrination  into  the  science  of  teaching,  Normal  Schools 
must  be  the  main  and  the  only  unfailing  reliance,  in  any  sys- 
tem of  Common  Schools. 

251.  The  evenings  of  the  session  are  usually  occupied  by 
debates,  or  by  lecturers,  who  treat  of  any  of  the  important 
topics  embraced  in  the  vast  range  of  Common  School  interests, 

PENALTIES    FOR    DISTURBING     SCHOOLS,    FOR     NOT     PROVIDING,    AND 
FOR    WITHHOLDING,    THE     MEANS    OF    EDUCATION. 

252.  Every  person  who  shall  wilfully  interrupt  or  disturb 
any  school,  or  other  assembly,  met  for  a  lawful  purpose,  within 
the  place  of  such  meeting  or  out  of  it,  shall  be  punished  by 
imprisonment  in  the  county  jail,  not  more  than  thirty  days,  or 
by  fine  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars.     St.  1849,  ch.  59. 

253.  In  addition  to  the  penalties  to  which  any  town,  school 
district,  or  school  officer  may  be  liable,  at  common  law,  for 
malfeasance  or  nonfeasance  in  the  performance  of  ofiicial  duty, 
it  is  expressly  provided  by  statute,  that  if  any  town  shall  refuse 
or  neglect  to  raise  money  for  the  support  of  schools,  as  required 
by  law,  such  town  shall  forfeit  a  sum  equal  to  twice  the  highest 
sum  which  had  ever  before  been  voted  for  the  support  of 
schools  therein.     Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§.  60. 

254.  If  any  town  shall  refuse  or  neglect  to  choose  a  school 
committee  to  superintend  its  schools,  or  to  choose  a  prudential 
committee  for  its  several  districts,  when  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
town  to  choose  such  prudential  committee,  such  town  shall 
forfeit  a  sum  not  less  than  one  hundred  nor  more  than  two 
hundred  dollars,  which  shall  be  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the 
county.  One  fourth  of  said  sum  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the 
county  ;  the  other  three  fourths  shall  be  paid  by  the  county 
treasurer  to  the  school  committee  of  the  town  on  which  the 
fine  had  been  imposed  ;  or,  if  no  such  committee  exists,  then 
to  the  selectmen  of  the  town  for  the  use  of  the  schools 
therein.     lb. 

255.  Every  such  school  committee  or  board  of  selectmen 


135 

must  forthwith  receive,  from  the  treasurer  of  the  county,  any 
money  so  payable  to  them,  and  must  apportion  and  appropriate 
the  same  to  the  support  of  the  schools  of  such  town,  in  the 
same  manner  as  it  should  have  been  appropriated,  if  it  had 
been  regularly  raised  by  the  town  for  that  purpose.     lb.  *§»  61. 

256.  Children  in  Manufacturing  Establishments.  No 
child  under  the  age  of  fifteen  years  shall  be  employed  in  any 
manufacturing  establishment,  unless  such  child  shall  have  at- 
tended some  public  or  private  day  school, — where  instruction 
is  given  by  a  teacher  qualified  according  to  law  to  teach 
orthography,  reading,  writing,  English  grammar,  geography, 
arithmetic,  and  good  behavior, — at  least  one  term  of  eleven 
weeks  of  the  twelve  months  next  preceding  the  time  of  such 
employment,  and  for  the  same  period  during  any  and  every 
twelve  months  in  which  such  child  shall  be  so  employed.  St. 
1836,  ch.  245,  ^  1 ;  1849,  ch.  220,  ^  1. 

257.  The  above  prohibition  does  not  apply  to  any  child  who 
shall  have  removed  into  this  Commonwealth  from  any  other 
state  or  country,  until  such  child  shall  have  resided  six  months 
within  this  Commonwealth.      1840,  ch.  220,  <§>  1. 

258.  The  owner,  agent,  or  superintendent  of  any  manufactur- 
ing establishment,  who  shall  employ  any  child  in  such  estab- 
lishment contrary  to  the  above  provision,  shall  forfeit  a  sum  not 
exceeding  fifty  dollars  for  each  offence,  to  be  recovered  by  in- 
dictment, to  the  use  of  Common  Schools  in  the  town  where 
such  establishment  may  be  situated.  St.  1836,  ch.  245,  <§>  2  ; 
St.  1842,  ch.  60,  ^  2  ;   1849,  ch.  220,  ^  3. 

259.  If  any  owner,  agent,  or  superintendent  of  a  manufac- 
turing establishment,  before  employing  any  child  under  the  age 
of  fifteen  years,  shall  obtain  and  preserve  a  certificate,  signed 
by  the  instructor  of  the  school  where  such  child  did  attend,  at 
least  one  term  of  eleven  weeks  of  the  twelve  months  next  pre- 
ceding the  time  of  such  employment,  declaring  that  said  child 
has  received  the  instruction  required  by  law,  and  if  the  truth 
of  the  certificate  shall  be  sworn  to  by  the  instructor  before 
some  justice  of  the  peace  for  the  county  where  the  instructor 
resides,  and,  upon  the  certificate,  shall  also  be  certified  the  fact 
of  the  administration  of  an  oath  or  affirmation  by  said  justice, 


136 

then  the  person  otherwise  liable  to  said  penalty  shall  be  ex- 
empted therefrom.     St.  1838,  ch.  107  ;  1849,  oh.  220,  »§.§  1,  3. 

260.  It  is  the  special  duty  of  the  school  committees  in  the 
several  towns  and  cities  of  the  Commonwealth  to  prosecute 
the  owners,  agents,  or  superintendents  of  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments, for  employing  children  under  fifteen  years  of  age, 
who  have  not  received  the  instruction  above  described.  St. 
1842,  ch.  60,  ^  1. 

261.  No  child  under  the  age  of  twelve  years  can  be  law- 
fully employed  to  labor,  in  any  manufacturing  establishment, 
more  than  ten  hours  in  any  one  day,     St.  1842,  ch.  60,  <§.  3. 

262.  The  owner,  agent,  or  superintendent  of  any  manufac- 
turing establishment,  who  shall  knowingly  employ  any  child, 
under  the  age  of  twelve  years,  more  than  ten  hours  in  any  one 
day,  shall  forfeit  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars  for  each  oftence,  to  be 
recovered  in  any  court  competent  to  try  the  same,  to  the  use 
of  the  person  prosecuting.     St.  1842,  ch.  60,  <§>  4. 

263.  Any  child,  unlawfully  excluded  from  public  school  in- 
struction in  this  Commonwealth,  may  recover  damages  there- 
for, in  an  action  on  the  case,  to  be  brought  in  the  name  of  said 
child  by  his  guardian  or  next  friend,  in  any  court  of  competent 
jurisdiction  to  try  the  same,  against  the  city  or  town  by  which 
the  public  school  instruction  is  supported.  St.  1845,  ch.  214. 
This  act  was  passed  in  order  to  secure  to  all  colored  children 
equal  privileges  with  the  whites,  in  all  our  schools. 

AIDS    AND    ENCOURAGEMENTS    TOWARDS    UNIVERSAL    EDUCATION. 

264.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  resident  ministers  of  the  gospel,  of 
the  selectmen  and  the  school  committees,  in  the  several  towns 
and  cities  of  the  State,  to  exert  their  influence  and  use  their 
best  endeavors,  that  the  youth  of  their  towns  or  cities  shall 
regularly  attend  the  schools  established  for  their  instruction. 
Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  <§.  8 ;  ch.  2,  ^  6,  art.  17. 

265.  All  property  belonging  to  Common  School  districts,  the 
income  of  which  is  appropriated  to  the  purposes  of  education, 
is  exempt  from  taxation.     St.  1843,  ch.  85. 

266.  Massachusetts  School  Fund.  In  the  year  1834,  it 
was  enacted  that  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  January  then 


137 

next,  all  moneys  in  the  treasury  derived  from  the  sale  of  lands 
in  the  state  of  Maine,  and  from  the  claim  of  the  State  on  the 
government  of  the  United  States  for  military  services,  and  not 
otherwise  appropriated,  together  with  fifty  per  cent,  of  all 
moneys  thereafter  to  be  received  from  the  sale  of  lands  in  the 
state  of  Maine,  should  be  appropriated  to  constitute  a  perma- 
nent fund  for  the  aid  and  encouragement  of  Common  Schools  ; 
provided,  that  said  fund  shall  never  exceed  one  million  of  dol- 
lars. St.  1834,  ch.  169,  ^  1.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  11,  -§,  13.  St.  1844, 
ch.  6,  ^  1. 

267.  The  investment  of  all  moneys  appropriated  to  the 
school  fund  is  to  be  made  by  the  treasurer  of  the  Common- 
wealth, with  the  approbation  of  the  Governor  and  Council. 
Rev.  St.,  ch.  11,  <§,  14. 

268.  When  the  lands  are  sold,  notes  are  usually,  if  not  al- 
ways, taken.  The  usage  and  practice  under  the  act  have  al- 
ways been,  to  add  the  interest  accruing  on  the  notes  to  the 
principal.  When  the  notes  are  paid,  the  moneys  received  are 
invested,  and  then  become  a  part  of  the  funded  capital.  It  is 
the  income  of  the  funded  capital  only  which  is  distributed 
among  the  towns. 

269.  The  Massachusetts  School  Fund,  therefore,  consists  of 
two  parts.  1.  "  Notes  for  lands,''''  the  interest  of  which  is 
added  to  the  principal  of  the  fund,  until  the  notes  are  paid.  2. 
"  The  funded  capital,^'' — that  is,  stocks,  notes  of  banks,  cash 
deposited  and  bearing  interest,  &c., — the  interest  of  which  is 
annually  distributed.  The  whole  amount  of  the  fund,  on  the 
first  oi  June,  1849,  was  $868,452  60.  The  amount  of  in- 
come which  was  apportioned  to  cities  and  towns,  on  the  same 
day,  (besides  $240  given  to  certain  tribes  of  Indians,)  was 
$33,763  20.  A  part  of  the  fund  bears  an  interest  of  six  per 
cent.  ;  no  part  of  it  bears  a  less  interest  than  five  per  cent. 

270.  All  sums  of  money  drawn  from  the  treasury,  by  virtue 
of  appropriations  made  for  educational  purposes,  are  a  charge 
upon  the  moiety  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  public 
lands  now  set  apart  for  the  purpose  of  constituting  a  "  school 
fund ;"  and  all  payments  made  on  account  of  such  appropria- 
tions are  to  be  deducted  from  the  amount  received  into  the 

18 


138 

treasury  from  the  moiety  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands,  be- 
fore such  moiety  shall  be  credited  to  the  school  fund.  If  the 
sum  received  on  account  of  said  moiety  should  not  be  suffi- 
cient to  pay  the  sum  di'awn,  on  account  of  any  appropriation 
for  educational  purposes,  such  draft  must  then  be  paid  from  the 
"school  fund-'  already  invested.     St.  1846,  ch.  219,  <§.  2. 

271.  The  income  of  the  funded  capital,  to  the  fu'st  day  of 
June,  in  each  year,  (excepting  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  dollars  appropriated  to  the  Indians,  as  hereafter  men- 
tioned,) is  apportioned  by  the  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Commonwealth,  and  is  payable  by  the  treasurer,  on  the  tenth 
day  of  July,  to  the  treasurers  of  the  several  cities  and  towns 
for  the  use  of  the  Common  Schools  therein,  according  to  the 
number  of  persons  in  said  cities  and  towns  between  the  ages 
of  0  and  15  years,  provided  certain  conditions  have  been  com- 
plied with  by  said  cities  and  towns.  St.  1846,  ch.  223,  <^  5 ; 
1849,  ch.  117;  1840,  ch.  7,  -^  1  ;  1839,  ch.  56,  ^  3.  Rev. 
St.,  ch.  23,  <§.  67.     See  ante,  269. 

272.  The  conditions,  whose  performance  entitles  a  city  or 
town  to  a  distributive  share  of  the  income  of  the  fund,  are  the 
following : — 

1st.  It  must  have  raised  by  taxation,  upon  the  polls  and  es- 
tates therein,  for  the  payment  of  the  wages  and  board  of  teach- 
ers, and  for  fuel  for  the  si'-hools,  a  sum  equal  at  least  to  one 
dollar  and  fifty  cents  for  each  person,  between  the  ages  of  5 
and  15  years,  belonging  to  said  city  or  town  on  the  first  day  of 
May.     St.  1846,  ch.  223,  <^  5  ;  1849,  ch.  117,  <^  3. 

273.  2d.  It  must  have  ascertained,  through  the  agency  of 
the  school  committee,  as  soon  as  practicable  after  the  first  day 
of  May,  and  by  their  actual  examination,  or  in  such  other  way 
as  they  may  direct,  the  number  of  persons  belonging  to  said 
city  or  town,  on  said  first  day  of  May,  between  the  ages  of  5 
and  15  years,  and  the  said  number  must  be  certified  by  the 
oath  of  the  committee.  The  committee  must  also  certify  under 
oath  the  amount  of  money  which  the  town  has  raised  by  tax- 
ation, for  the  payment  of  the  wages  and  board  of  the  teachers, 
and  for  fuel  for  the  schools.  St.  1846,  ch.  223,  *^  2.  The  cer- 
tificates of  the  committee  must  be  signed  and  sworn  to  by  a 


139 

majority  of  the  committee,  with  an  exception  previously  men- 
tioned.    See  ante,  208,  and  St.  1849,  ch.  144. 

274.  3d.  It  must,  by  its  school  committee,  have  answered 
all  the  inquiries  and  filled  all  the  blanks  contained  in  the 
Blank  Form  of  Inquiries  prepared  by  the  Board  of  Education, 
and  transmitted  by  its  Secretary.     St.  1846,  ch.  223,  «§>  3. 

275.  4th.  The  school  committee  of  said  town  or  city  must 
have  made  a  detailed  report  of  the  condition  of  the  several 
Public  Schools  within  their  jurisdiction,  which  report  must 
contain  such  statements  and  suggestions,  in  relation  to  said 
schools,  as  the  committees  may  deem  necessary  or  proper  in 
order  to  promote  the  interests  thereof.  This  report  must  be 
read  in  open  town  meeting,  at  one  of  the  annual  meetings  of 
the  town,  or,  at  the  discretion  of  the  committee,  be  printed  for 
the  use  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town.  The  original  report 
must  be  deposited  in  the  office  of  the  town  clerk,  and  a  certi- 
fied copy  of  it  be  transmitted  by  the  committee  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Commonwealth,  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  April, 
lb.  <§>  4. 

Indians.  Within  the  limits  of  Massachusetts  there  are  a 
few  small  tribes  or  communities  of  Indians.  According  to  an 
actual  enumeration  of  them,  made  by  commissioners,  in  1848, 
their  whole  number,  including  all  people  of  color  connected 
with  them,  amounted  to  847.  See  Report  of  F.  W.  Bird, 
Whiting  Griswold,  and  Cyrus  Weeks.  House  Document  for 
1849,  No.  46. 

276.  That  there  may  not  be  a  child  in  the  State  destitute 
of  the  means  of  education,  the  Commonwealth  annually  appro- 
ates  the  following  sums  for  the  support  of  Common  Schools 
among  these  Indians,  namely  : — 

For  the  Marshpee  Indians,  one  hundred  dollars.  Rev.  St., 
ch.  23,  <^  68. 

For  the  Gay  Head  Indians,  sixty  dollars.     St.  1838,  ch.  154. 

For  the  Christiantown  and  Chappequiddick  Indians,  sixty 
dollars.     lb. 

For  the  Herring  Pond  Indians,  twenty  dollars.     lb. 

These  sums  are  to  be  paid  over  on  the  first  of  January,  an- 
nually.    Rev.  St.,  ch.  23,  «§,  68.     St.  1838,  ch.  154. 


140 

An  annual  account  of  the  appropriation  of  these  moneys  is 
to  be  rendered  to  the  Governor  and  Council. 

277.  In  addition  to  the  above,  the  sum  of  twenty-five  hun- 
dred dollars  was  reserved  from  the  Surplus  Revenue,  and  has 
been  loaned  by  the  treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  in- 
come of  which  is  distributed  as  follows,  namely  : — 

To  the  Maxshpee  Indians,  the  income  of  one  thousand  dol- 
lais.     St.  1837,  ch.  85,  <^  7. 

To  the  Christiantown  and  Chappequiddick  Indians,  the  in- 
come of  six  hundred  dollars.     lb. 

To  the  Gay  Head  Indians,  the  income  of  six  hundred  dol- 
lars,    lb. 

To  the  Herring  Pond  Indians,  the  income  of  three  hundred 
dollars.  lb.  All  of  said  sums  are  to  be  paid  over  in  the  month 
of  March,  annually,  and  to  be  appropriated  to  the  purposes  of 
Common  School  education  among  said  Indians.     lb. 

278.  American  Institute  of  Instruction.  This  society 
was  formed  in  the  year  1830.  It  held  its  first  meeting  in  the 
hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  Boston,  on  the  19th 
day  of  August  of  the  same  year.  At  this  meeting,  eleven  states 
were  represented.  A  constitution  was  adopted,  which  declares 
that  the  object  of  the  society  shall  be  "  the  diff"usion  of  useful 
knowledge  in  regard  to  education."  Discussions  were  held 
and  twelve  lectures  delivered.  In  1831,  the  society  was  in- 
corporated under  the  name  of  "  The  American  Institute  of 
Instruction."  St.  1831,  ch.  67.  It  has  since  held  annual  meet- 
ings, and  has  published  nineteen  volumes  of  lectures  delivered 
before  it.     The  twentieth  volume  is  now  in  press. 

279.  To  enable  the  society  to  publish  its  lectures,  and  oth- 
erwise to  promote  the  object  of  its  formation,  the  Legislature 
of  Massachusetts,  since  the  year  1835,  has  granted  it  an  annu- 
ity of  three  hundred  dollars.  Res.  1835,  March  14 ;  1840, 
March  23;  1845,  ch.  112. 

280.  The  Institute  may  justly  be  considered  as  the  source 
of  all  the  improvements  in  education,  which  have  since  been 
made  in  New  England  and  the  other  Northern  States ;  and  its 
influence  is  slowly  diffusing  itself  through  the  uncongenial  re- 
gions of  the  South. 


141 

281.  Massachusetts  Teachers'  Association.  The  sum  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  is  to  be  paid  annually,  in  the 
month  of  August,  to  the  president  or  treasurer  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Teachers'  Association,  to  be  applied  to  the  purposes  of 
said  association.     Resolve,  1849,  ch.  75. 

282.  County  Associations  of  Teachers.  Whenever  any 
County  Association  of  Teachers  and  others  shall  hold  semi- 
annual meetings  of  not  less  than  two  days  each,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  promoting  the  interests  of  Common  Schools,  such 
associations  are  entitled  to  receive  fifty  dollars  a  year  from  the 
State.     St.  1848,  ch.  301,  <§>  1. 

283.  For  obtaining  said  sum  of  fifty  dollars,  the  president 
and  secretary  of  the  association  must  certify  under  oath,  to  the 
Governor,  that  two  such  semi-annual  meetings  have  been  held. 
The  Governor  will  then  draw  his  warrant  on  the  treasurer  of  the 
Commonwealth.     lb.  <§>  2. 

284.  The  Deaf  and  Dumb.  The  State  of  Massachusetts 
makes  an  annual  grant  of  eight  thousand  five  hundred  dollars 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  instruction,  board,  washing,  lodging, 
and  stationery  of  all  the  indigent  deaf  and  dumb  persons,  be- 
longing to  it,  who  are  between  the  ages  of  8  and  25  years. 
These  beneficiaries  of  the  State  are  educated  at  the  American 
Asylum  in  Hartford,  Connecticut.  Res.  Feb.  18,  1825,  ch.  83 ; 
March  24,  1843  ;    1847,  ch.  94. 

285.  To  encom-age  and  assist  those  parents,  who  have  sufii- 
cient  pecuniary  ability  to  pay  for  the  education  of  their  chil- 
dren, at  Hartford,  the  State  will,  in  the  first  instance,  become 
responsible  to  the  asylum  for  all  expenses  of  instruction,  board, 
«fcc.,  and  will  accept  the  obligation  of  the  parents  to  make  re- 
imbursement.    Res.  Feb.  18,  1825,  ch.  83. 

286.  The  beneficiaries  of  the  State  are  entitled,  under  the 
above  provisions,  to  remain  at  the  institution  at  Hartford,  for 
the  period  of  six  years.     Res.  Feb.  18,  1825  ;  March  24,  1843. 

287.  The  Blind.  The  Perkins  Institution  and  Massachusetts 
Asylum  for  the  Blind  was  opened  in  1833.  By  virtue  of  the  Re- 
solves of  the  sixteenth  and  twenty-eighth  of  February,  1833, 
and  others  of  a  subsequent  date,  the  institution  has  received  not 
less  than  a  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars  from  the 


142 

treasury  of  the  State  ;  and  yet  no  one  doubts  that  it  has  saved 
the  community  much  more  than  this  sum,  by  turning  those, 
who  would  otherwise  have  been  dependents  and  burdens  upon 
their  friends  or  upon  society,  into  intelligent,  industrious,  and 
useful  citizens.  All  this,  however,  is  nothing  when  compared 
with  the  sufferings  it  has  relieved  and  the  happiness  it  has  be- 
stowed. 

288.  By  the  Resolve  of  1847,  ch.  49,  the  sum  of  $9000  is 
annually  appropriated  to  the  institution,  dining  the  pleasure  of 
the  Legislature.  The  condition  attached  to  this  grant  is,  that 
the  institution  shall  receive,  board,  lodge,  and  educate  forty  in- 
digent blind  persons,  belonging  to  the  Commonwealth,  if  there 
shall  be  so  many  applicants.  In  point  of  fact,  the  institution 
has  always  received  and  educated  all  the  indigent  blind  be- 
longing to  the  State,  who  have  brought  themselves  within  the 
general  rules  for  admission  adopted  by  its  government. 

289.  By  the  Resolve  of  1849,  ch.  77,  the  sum  of  $5000  was 
given  to  the  institution  for  the  purpose  of  erecting,  on  the  land 
of  the  institution,  a  suitable  workshop  for  the  employment  of 
adult  blind  poor  persons ;  on  condition  that  the  institution 
should  add  thereto  the  like  sum  of  $5000,  and  any  further 
sum  that  might  be  found  necessary  to  complete  the  building. 
This  establishment  is  to  be  under  the  general  superintendence 
of  the  trustees  of  the  Blind  Institution.  It  will  furnish  em- 
ployment and  the  means  of  a  comfortable  subsistence  to  the 
adult  blind  poor. 

290.  Idiots.  A  sum,  not  exceeding  twenty-five  hundred 
dollars  a  year,  is  appropriated  for  three  years  for  the  purpose 
of  testing  the  teachableness  and  improvability  of  idiots.  Re- 
solve, 1848,  ch.  65.  Under  this  Resolve,  a  school  for  idiots 
has  been  opened  in  the  Blind  Institution,  at  South  Boston. 
The  effects  already  produced  upon   the  members  of  the  school 

■furnish  the  most  gratifying  auguries  of  its  ultimate  success. 

291.  Prisoners  in  the  State  Prison,  in  Jails,  and  in 
Houses  of  Correction.  The  county  commissioners  of  the 
several  counties  in  the  Commonwealth  are  authorized,  at  their 
discretion,  and  at  the  expense  of  their  respective  counties,  to 
provide  moral  and  religious  instruction  for  the  prisoners  con- 
fined in  their  jails  and  houses  of  correction.     St.  1848,  ch.  29. 


143 

292.  The  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars  annually  is  appropri- 
ated, from  the  funds  of  the  State  Prison,  to  be  expended  by  the 
warden,  under  the  direction  of  the  inspectors  of  the  prison,  for 
the  increase,  preservation,  and  care  of  the  library  of  said  prison. 
Res.  1847,  ch.  16. 

293.  The  warden  and  inspectors  of  the  State  Prison,  the 
county  commissioners  of  each  county,  the  mayor  and  alder- 
men of  the  city  of  Boston,  with  the  sheriffs  of  each  county 
respectively,  are  authorized  to  furnish,  at  the  expense  of  said 
counties,  suitable  instruction  in  reading  and  writing,  for  one 
hour  each  evening,  (Sundays  excepted,)  to  all  such  prisoners 
as  may  be  benefited  by  said  instruction,  and  are  desirous  to 
receive  the  same.     St.  1848,  ch.  324,  <§.  3. 

294.  Lyceums,  &c.  Any  twenty  or  more  persons,  in  any 
county  or  town  in  the  State,  may  associate  together  for  the 
purpose  of  mutual  improvement  and  the  promotion  of  common 
education,  and  may  become  a  corporation  by  any  name  they 
may  choose  to  adopt.  Rev.  St.,  ch.  41,  <^  7.  St.  1846,  ch.  94, 
*§.  1.  Such  corporation  may  hold  real  and  personal  estate  to 
any  amount  not  exceeding  twenty  thousand  dollars.  St.  1846, 
ch.  94,  -^  2. 

295.  State  Reform  School.  The  State  Reform  School 
is  located  at  Westborough,  in  the  county  of  Worcester.  It  is 
about  twelve  miles  distant  from  the  city  of  Worcester,  and  two 
and  a  half  fiom  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Railroad.  This 
school  was  established  by  the  State,  by  the  act  of  1847,  ch. 
165.  It  was  opened  for  the  admission  of  members,  November 
1,  1848.  The  buildings  afford  accommodation  for  300  boys, 
besides  all  necessary  apartments  for  superintendent,  teachers, 
and  attendants.  A  farm  of  about  225  acres  belongs  to  the  es- 
tablishment. The  grants  made  by  the  State  for  the  erection 
of  buildings,  and  other  objects  connected  with  the  institution, 
amount  to  f  115,000.  Besides  this,  an  individual,  who  con- 
cealed his  person,  and  showed  only  his  bountiful  hand,  gave 
$22,500  for  the  school.* 

296.  The  object  of  the  school  is  declared  to  be,  '■'■for  the  in- 

•Since  ascertained  to  be  the  Honorable  Theodore  Lyman,  who  died  July  17, 1849. 


144 

structio?!,  employment,  and  reformation  of  jiivenile  offenders^ 
The  government  is  vested  in  a  board  of  seven  trustees,  to  be 
appointed  and  commissioned  by  the  Governor,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Council.     St.  1847,  ch.  165,  <§»  1. 

Two  trustees  are  to  be  appointed  and  commissioned  annu- 
ally ;  and,  for  this  purpose,  the  places  of  the  two  senior  mem- 
bers, as  they  stand  arranged  in  their  commission,  are  to  be  an- 
nually vacated.  The  actual  expenses  of  the  trustees  are  to  be 
refunded  to  them.  No  trustee  receives  any  compensation  for 
his  services.     lb.  *§>  14. 

297.  The  trustees  of  the  school,  for  the  time  being,  are  a 
corporation  for  the  purpose  of  taking  and  holding,  to  them- 
selves and  their  successors,  in  trust  for  the  Commonwealth, 
any  grant  or  devise  of  lands,  and  any  donation  or  bequest  of 
money,  made  for  the  use  of  the  institution,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  preserving  and  investing  the  proceeds  of  any  such  grant,  de- 
vise, donation,  or  bequest,  in  notes,  bonds,  or  other  securities. 
St.  1848,  ch.  305,  <§.  1. 

298.  The  trustees  have  charge  of  the  general  interests  of  the 
institution  ;  they  appoint  its  officers,  and  have  full  visitatorial 
powers.     St.  1847,  ch.  165,  *§,  2. 

299.  Whenever  any  boy,  under  the  age  of  sixteen  years, 
shall  be  convicted  of  any  offence  known  to  the  laws  of  the 
Commonwealth,  and  punishable  by  imprisonment,  other  than 
such  as  may  he  punished  by  impi-isonment  for  life,  the  coiurt 
or  justice,  before  whom  such  conviction  shall  be  had,  may,  at 
their  discretion,  sentence  such  boy  to  the  State  Reform  School, 
or  to  such  punishment  as  is  now  provided  b/  law  for  the  same 
offence.  If  the  sentence  shall  be  to  the  school,  then  it  shall  be 
in  the  alternative,  to  the  State  Reform  School,  or  to  such  pun- 
ishment as  would  have  been  awarded,  without  this  act.    lb.  <§>  4. 

300.  Any  boy,  convicted  and  sent  to  the  school,  may  be 
there  kept,  disciplined,  instructed,  employed,  and  governed  un- 
til he  shall  be  either  reformed  or  discharged ;  or  he  may  be 
bound  out  by  the  trustees ;  or,  if  adjudged  by  them  to  be  in- 
corrigible, or  an  unfit  subject  for  the  school,  he  may  be  re- 
manded to  prison  under  the  sentence  of  the  court.    lb.  <§.<§»  5,  6. 

301.  No  commitment  of  any  boy  can  be  for  a  longer  term 


145 

than  for  his  minority,  nor  for  a  shorter  term  than  one  year. 
Boys,  however,  whom  the  trustees  adjudge  to  be  reformed, 
may  be  discharged  at  any  time.  Whenever  any  boy  is  dis- 
charged, as  reformed,  or  by  the  expiration  of  his  term,  or  as 
having  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  such  discharge  is  a 
full  and  complete  release  from  all  penalties  and  disabilities, 
created  by  the  sentence.     lb.  *§)  7. 

302.  The  trustees  may  bind  out  the  boys,  as  apprentices  or 
servants.  When  any  boy  is  so  bound,  all  the  parties  to  the 
indentures  come  within  the  provisions  of  the  eightieth  chap- 
ter of  the  Revised  Statutes,  ^^  Of  Masters,  Apprentices,  and 
Serva^its^     lb.  *§>  8. 

303.  The  trustees  are  to  cause  the  boys  under  their  charge 
to  be  instructed  in  piety  and  morality,  and  in  such  branches  of 
useful  knowledge  as  shall  be  adapted  to  their  age  and  capacity. 
The  boys  are  also  to  be  instructed  in  some  regular  course  of 
labor,  either  mechanical,  manufacturing,  agricultural,  or  horti- 
cultural, or  a  combination  of  them,  as  shall  be  best  suited  to 
their  age  and  strength,  disposition  and  capacity ;  or  in  any 
such  other  arts  and  trades,  as  may  seem  to  the  trustees  best 
adapted  to  secure  the  reformation,  amendment,  and  future  ben- 
efit of  the  boys.  In  binding  them  out,  the  trustees  must  have 
scrupulous  regard  to  the  religious  and  moral  character  of  those 
to  whom  they  are  bound,  to  the  end  that  they  may  secure  to 
the  boys  the  benefit  of  a  good  example  and  wholesome  instruc- 
tion, and  the  sure  means  of  improvement  in  virtue  and  knowl- 
edge, and  thus  the  opportunity  of  becoming  intelligent,  moral, 
useful,  and  happy  citizens  of  this  Commonwealth.     lb.  '§.  9. 

304.  The  superintendent,  together  with  such  subordinate 
officers  as  the  trustees  may  appoint,  are  to  have  the  immediate 
charge  and  custody  of  the  boys.  The  superintendent  must  be 
a  constant  resident  at  the  institution,  and  must  discipline,  gov- 
ern, instruct,  and  employ,  and  use  his  best  endeavors  to  reform 
the  inmates,  in  such  a  manner,  as,  while  preserving  their 
health,  will  secure  the  formation,  as  far  as  possible,  of  moral, 
religious,  and  industrious  habits,  and  regular,  thorough  progress 
and  improvement  in  their  studies,  trades,  and  various  employ- 
ments,    lb.  >^  10. 

19 


146 

305.  The  superintendent  must  keep  a  register,  containing 
the  name  and  age  of  each  boy,  and  the  circumstances  con- 
nected with  his  early  history ;  and  he  is  also  to  add  such  facts 
as  may  come  to  his  knowledge  relating  to  the  subsequent  his- 
tory of  each  boy,  while  at  the  institution,  and  after  he  shall 
have  left  it.     lb.  <§>  11. 

306.  One  or  more  of  the  trustees  must  visit  the  school  once 
in  every  two  weeks,  for  the  examination  of  the  boys  in  the 
schoolroom  and  workshop.  Once  in  every  three  months,  the 
school,  in  all  its  departments,  is  to  be  thoroughly  examined  by 
a  majority  of  the  board,  and  a  report  made.  Annually,  in  De- 
cember, an  abstract  of  the  quarterly  reports  is  to  be  prepared, 
which,  together  with  a  full  report  by  the  superintendent,  is  to 
be  laid  before  the  Governor  and  Council,  for  the  information  of 
the  Legislature.     lb.  <§.  15. 

For  other  information  respecting  the  management  of  the 
farm,  the  pecuniary  responsibility  of  certain  officers,  &c.  &c., 
see  the  statute  itself,  1847,  ch.  165. 

307.  International  Literary  and  Scientific  Exchanges. 
By  a  standing  Resolve,  the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars  is  ap- 
propriated annually  to  promote  the  system  of  international  lit- 
erary and  scientific  exchanges,  introduced  by  M.  Yattemare. 
Res.  1849,  ch.  115.  See  also  Resolves  of  1845,  ch.  51,  and  of 
1847,  ch.  41. 

provision    for    answering    the    requests    of   other    states 

AND    foreign    countries. 

308.  The  constitution  of  Massachusetts,  after  having  de- 
clared the  obvious  truths,  that  the  encouragement  of  arts  and 
sciences  and  all  good  literature  tends  to  the  honor  of  GOD,  the 
advantage  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  the  benefit  of  the 
State,  proceeds  to  recognize  and  to  act  upon  the  principles  of 
a  wise  and  broad  philanthropy,  by  superadding,  that  it  tends 
also  to  the  benefit  of  '■^  the  other  United  States  of  America." 
Ch.  5,  sec.  1,  art.  1. 

309.  In  pursuance  of  this  noble  and  beneficent  sentiment, 
the  Legislature,  by  a  standing  provision,  has  instructed  the 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  under  the  direction  of  the 


147 

Governor,  to  obtain  and  forward,  at  the  public  expense,  books 
and  other  documents  containing  information  respecting  the  lit- 
erary, charitable,  and  other  institutions  of  this  Commonwealth, 
as  applications  for  the  same  are  received,  from  time  to  time, 
from  the  authorities  of  other  states  or  of  foreign  countries. 
Res.  March  20,  1845,  ch.  101. 

I  have  now  completed,  as  well  as  I  have  been  able,  the  pro- 
posed account  of  our  laws  and  decisions  on  the  subject  of 
Public  Instruction.  The  recital  of  this  provision  for  sending 
abroad,  to  other  states  and  foreign  countries,  gratuitous  infor- 
mation respecting  our  education  and  our  charities,  brings  the 
work  I  had  undertaken  to  an  appropriate  close.  It  is  the  top- 
most spire  of  light  shooting  its  beams  high  up  and  afar  off, 
from  the  Pharos  of  our  educational  and  charitable  institutions, 
for  the  enlightening  of  mankind ; — at  once  illuminating  the 
earth  and  pointing  to  heaven. 

Massachusetts  is  parental  in  her  government.  More  and 
more,  as  year  after  year  rolls  by,  she  seeks  to  substitute  pre- 
vention for  remedy,  and  rewards  for  penalties.  She  strives  to 
make  industry  the  antidote  to  poverty,  and  to  counterwork  the 
progress  of  vice  and  crime  by  the  diffusion  of  knowledge  and 
the  culture  of  virtuous  principles.  She  seeks  not  only  to  miti- 
gate those  great  physical  and  mental  calamities  of  which  man- 
kind are  the  sad  inheritors,  but  also  to  avert  those  infinitely 
greater  moral  calamities  which  form  the  disastrous  heritage  of 
depraved  passions.  Hence  it  has  long  been  her  policy  to  endow 
or  to  aid  asylums  for  the  cure  of  disease.  She  succors  and 
maintains  all  the  poor  within  her  borders,  whatever  may  have 
been  the  land  of  their  nativity.  She  founds  and  supports  hos- 
pitals for  restoring  reason  to  the  insane  ;  and  even  for  those 
violators  of  the  law  whom  she  is  obliged  to  sequestrate  from 
society,  she  provides  daily  instruction  and  the  ministrations  of 
the  gospel  at  the  public  charge.  To  those  who,  in  the  order 
of  nature  and  providence,  have  been  bereft  of  the  noble  facul- 
ties of  hearing  and  of  speech,  she  teaches  a  new  language,  and 
opens  their  imprisoned  minds  and  hearts  to  conversation  with 


U8 

men  and  to  communion  with  God  ;  and  it  hardly  transcends  the 
literal  truth  to  say,  that  she  gives  sight  to  the  blind.  For  the 
remnants  of  those  aboriginal  tribes  who,  for  so  many  ages, 
roamed  over  this  land,  without  cultivating  its  soil  or  elevating 
themselves  in  the  scale  of  being,  her  annual  bounty  provides 
good  schools  ;  and  when  the  equal,  natural  and  constitutional 
rights  of  the  outcast  children  of  Africa  were  thought  to  be  in- 
vaded, she  armed  her  courts  of  judicature  with  power  to  pun- 
ish the  aggressors.  The  public  highway  is  not  more  open  and 
free  for  every  man  in  the  community,  than  is  the  public  school- 
house  for  every  child  ;  and  each  parent  feels  that  a  free  edu- 
cation is  as  secure  a  part  of  the  birthright  of  his  offspring,  as 
Heaven's  bounties  of  light  and  air.  The  State  not  only  com- 
mands that  the  means  of  education  shall  be  provided  for  all, 
but  she  denounces  penalties  against  all  individuals,  and  all 
towns  and  cities,  however  populous  or  powerful  they  may  be, 
that  shall  presume  to  stand  between  her  bounty  and  its  recipi- 
ents. In  her  righteous  code,  the  interception  of  knowledge  is 
a  crime  ;  and  if  parents  are  unable  to  supply  their  children 
with  books,  she  becomes  a  parent  and  supplies  them. 

The  policy  of  the  State  promotes  not  only  secular  but  reli- 
gious instruction  ;  yet  in  such  a  way,  as  leaves  to  every  indi- 
vidual the  right  of  private  judgment  and  the  sacred  freedom  of 
conscience. 

Public  sentiment  exceeds  and  excels  the  law.  Annually, 
vast  sums  are  given  for  eleemosynary  and  charitable  purposes  ; 
— to  promote  the  cause  of  temperance,  to  send  the  gospel  to  the 
heathen,  and  to  diffuse  the  doctrines  of  peace,  which  are  the 
doctrines  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

For  public,  free  education  alone,  including  the  direct  outlay 
of  money,  and  the  interest  on  capital  invested,  Massachusetts 
expends,  annually,  more  than  a  million  of  dollars.  To  support 
religious  institutions  for  the  worship  of  God  and  the  salvation 
of  men,  she  annually  expends  more  than  another  million ;  and 
what  she  gives  away,  in  the  various  forms  of  charity,  far  ex- 
ceeds a  third  sum  of  equal  magnitude.  She  explores  the  world 
for  new  objects  of  benej&cence  ;  and  so  deep  and  common  is  the 
feeling  which  expects  and  prompts  all  this,  that  she  is  grad- 
ually changing  and  ennobling  the  definition  of  a  cardinal  word 


149 

in  the  language  of  morals, — doing  Avliat  no  king  or  court  with 
all  their  authority,  nor  royal  academy  with  all  its  sages  and  lit- 
erary men,  can  do, — she  is  changing  the  meaning  of  Charity 
into  Duty. 

For  the  support  of  the  poor,  nine  tenths  of  whose  cost  origi- 
nate with  foreigners  or  come  from  one  prolific  vice,  whose  last 
convulsive  energies  she  is  now  struggling  to  subdue,  she  annu- 
ally pays  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  ;  for  the 
support  and  improvement  of  public  highways,  she  pays  a  much 
larger  sum ;  and  within  the  last  dozen  or  fourteen  years,  she 
has  invested  a  capital  in  railroads,  within  and  without  the 
State,  of  nearly  or  quite  sixty  millions  of  dollars. 

Whence  come  her  means  to  give,  with  each  returning  year, 
more  than  a  million  of  dollars  to  public  education  ;  more  than 
another  million  to  religion  ;  and  more  than  a  third  to  ameliorate 
and  succor  the  afflicted  and  the  ignorant  at  home,  and  to  bless, 
in  distant  lands,  those  who  sit  in  the  region  and  shadow  of 
death  ?  How  does  she  support  her  poor,  maintain  her  public 
ways,  and  contribute  such  vast  sums  for  purposes  of  internal 
improvement,  besides  maintaining  her  immense  commercial 
transactions  with  every  zone  in  the  world  ? 

Has  she  a  vast  domain  ?  Her  whole  territory  would  not 
make  a  court-yard  of  respectable  dimensions  to  stand  in  front 
of  many  of  the  states  and  territories  belonging  to  the  Union. 

Does  she  draw  revenues  from  conquered  provinces  or  sub- 
jugated realms  ?  She  conquers  nothing,  she  subdues  nothing, 
save  the  great  elemental  forces  of  nature,  which  God  gives 
freely,  whenever  and  wherever  they  are  asked  for  in  the  lan- 
guage of  genius  and  science ;  and  in  regard  to  which  no  profu- 
sion or  prodigality  to  one  can  diminish  the  bounty  always 
ready  for  others. 

Does  she  live  by  the  toil  of  a  race  of  serfs  and  vassals  whom 
she  holds  in  personal  and  hereditary  bondage, — by  one  com- 
prehensive and  sovereign  act  of  violence  seizing  upon  both 
body  and  soul  at  once,  and  superseding  the  thousand  acts  of 
plunder  which  make  up  the  life  of  a  common  robber  ?  Every 
man  who  treads  her  sacred  soil  is  free  ;  all  are  free  alike ;  and 
within  her  borders,  for  any  purpose  connected  with  human 
slavery,  iron  will  not  be  welded  into  a  fetter. 


150 

Has  she  rich  mines  of  the  precious  metals  ?  In  all  her  cof- 
fers, there  is  not  a  drachm  of  silver  or  of  gold  which  has  not 
been  obtained  by  the  sweat  of  her  brow  or  the  vigor  of  her 
brain. 

Has  she  magazines  of  mineral  wealth  imbedded  in  the  earth, 
or  are  her  soil  and  climate  so  spontaneously  exuberant  that  she 
reaps  luxuriant  harvests  from  uncultivated  fields  ?  Alas  !  the 
orator  has  barbed  his  satire,  by  declaring  her  only  natural  pro- 
ductions to  be  granite  and  ice  ! 

Whence,  then,  I  again  ask,  comes  her  wealth  ? — I  do  not 
mean  the  gorgeous  wealth  which  is  displayed  in  the  voluptuous 
and  too  often  enervating  residences  of  the  affluent,  but  that 
golden  mean  of  property, — such  as  Agur  asked  for  in  his  per- 
fect prayer, — which  carries  blessings  in  its  train  to  thousands 
of  householders ;  which  spreads  solid  comfort  and  competence 
through  the  dwellings  of  the  land  ;  which  furnishes  the  means 
of  instruction,  of  social  pleasures  and  refinement,  to  the  citi- 
zens at  large  ;  which  saves  from  the  cruel  sufferings  and  the 
more  cruel  temptations  of  penury.  The  families,  scattered  over 
her  hills  and  along  her  valleys,  have  not  merely  a  shelter  from 
the  inclemencies  of  the  seasons,  but  the  sanctuary  of  a  home. 
Not  only  food,  but  books,  are  spread  upon  their  tables.  Her 
commonest  houses  have  the  means  of  hospitality  ;  they  have 
appliances  for  sickness,  and  resources  laid  up  against  accident 
and  the  infirmities  of  age.  Whether  in  her  rural  districts  or 
her  populous  towns,  a  wandering,  native-born  beggar  is  a  prod- 
igy, and  the  twelve  millions  of  dollars  deposited  in  her  Savings' 
Institutions  do  not  more  loudly  proclaim  the  frugality  and 
providence  of  the  past,  than  they  foretell  the  competence  and 
enjoyments  of  the  future. 

One  copious,  exhaustless  fountain  supplies  all  this  abundance. 
It  is  Education, — the  intellectual,  moral,  and  religious  education 
of  the  people.  Having  no  other  mines  to  work,  Massachusetts 
has  mined  into  the  human  intellect,  and,  from  its  limitless  re- 
sources, she  has  won  more  sustaining  and  enduring  prosperity 
and  happiness  than  if  she  had  been  founded  on  a  stratification 
of  silver  and  gold,  reaching  deeper  down  than  geology  has  yet 
penetrated.      From   her  high   religious   convictions,   she   has 


151 

learned  that  great  lesson, — to  set  a  value  upon  time.  Regard- 
ing the  faculties  as  the  gift  of  God,  she  has  felt  bound  both  to 
use  and  to  improve  them.  Mingling  skill  and  intelligence  with 
the  daily  occupations  of  life,  she  has  made  labor  honorable  ; 
and,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  idleness  is  disgraceful.  Knowl- 
edge has  been  the  ambition  of  her  sons,  and  she  has  reverenced 
and  venerated  the  purity  and  chastity  of  her  matrons  and  her 
daughters.  At  the  hearth-stone,  at  the  family  table,  and  at  the 
fgmiily  altar, — on  all  those  occasions  where  the  structure  of 
the  youthful  character  is  huilded  up,  these  sentiments  of  love 
for  knowledge  and  of  reverence  for  maidenly  virtue  have  been 
huilded  in  ;  and  there  they  stand,  so  wrought  and  mingled  with 
the  fibres  of  being,  that  none  but  God  can  tell  which  is  nature 
and  which  is  education  ;  which  we  owe  primarily  to  the  grace 
of  Heaven,  and  which  to  the  cooperating  wisdom  of  the  insti- 
tutions of  men.  Verily,  verily,  not  as  we  ought,  have  we 
obeyed  the  laws  of  Jehovah,  or  imitated  the  divine  example  of 
the  Savior ;  and  yet,  for  such  imperfect  obedience  and  distant 
imitation  as  we  have  rendered,  God  has  showered  down  manna 
from  the  heavens,  and  opened  a  rock  whence  flow  living  waters 
to  gladden  every  thirsty  place.  He  who  studies  the  present  or 
the  historic  character  of  Massachusetts  will  see, — and  he  who 
studies  it  most  profoundly  will  see  most  clearly, — that  what- 
ever of  abundance,  of  intelligence,  or  of  integrity,  whatever 
of  character  at  home  or  of  renown  abroad  she  may  possess, — 
all  has  been  evolved  from  the  enlightened,  and  at  least  par- 
tially Christianized  mind,  not  of  a  few,  but  of  the  great  masses 
of  her  people.  They  are  not  the  result  of  outward  riches  or 
art  brought  around  it,  or  laminated  over  it,  but  of  an  awakened 
inward  force,  working  energetically  outwards,  and  fashioning 
the  most  intractable  circumstances  to  the  dominion  of  its  own 
desires  and  resolves  ;  and  this  force  has  been  awakened  and  its 
unspent  energies  replenished,  more  than  from  all  things  else,  by 
her  Common  Schools. 

When  we  witness  the  mighty  achievements  of  art, — the 
locomotive  taking  up  its  burden  of  a  hundred  tons,  and  trans- 
porting it  for  hundreds  of  miles,  between  the  rising  and  the 
setting  sun  ;  the  steamboat  cleaving  its  rapid  way.  triumphant 


152 

over  wind  and  tide  ;  the  power-loom,  yielding  products  of 
greater  richness  and  abundance,  in  a  single  day,  than  all  the  in- 
habitants of  Tyre  could  have  manufactured  in  years  ;  the  print- 
ing-press, which  could  have  replaced  the  Alexandrian  library 
within  a  week  after  it  was  burnt ;  the  lightning,  not  only  do- 
mesticated in  the  laboratories  of  the  useful  arts,  but  employed 
as  a  messenger  between  distant  cities  ;  and  galleries  of  beauti- 
ful paintings,  quickened  into  life  by  the  sunbeams  ; — when 
we  see  all  these  marvels  of  power  and  of  celerity,  we  are  prone 
to  conclude  that  it  is  to  them  we  are  indebted  for  the  increase 
of  our  Avealth  and  for  the  progress  of  our  society.  But  were 
there  any  statistics  to  show  the  aggregate  value  of  all  the 
thrifty  and  gainful  habits  of  the  people  at  large  ; — the  greater 
productiveness  of  the  educated  than  of  the  brutified  laborer ; 
the  increased  power  of  the  intelligent  hand  and  the  broad  sur- 
vey and  deep  intuition  of  the  intelligent  eye ; — could  we  see  a 
leger  account  of  the  profits  which  come  from  forethought, 
order,  and  system,  as  they  preside  over  all  our  farms,  in  all  our 
workshops,  and  emphatically  in  all  the  labors  of  our  house- 
holds,— we  should  then  know  how  rapidly  their  gathered  units 
swell  into  millions  upon  millions.  The  skill  that  strikes  the 
nail's  head,  instead  of  the  finger's  ends ;  the  care  that  mends  a 
fence  and  saves  a  cornfield,  that  drives  a  horseshoe  nail  and 
secures  both  rider  and  horse,  that  extinguishes  a  light  and  saves 
a  house ;  the  prudence  that  cuts  the  coat  according  to  the 
cloth,  that  lays  by  something  for  a  rainy  day,  and  that  post- 
pones marriage  until  reasonably  sure  of  a  livelihood  ;  the  fore- 
thought that  sees  the  end  from  the  beginning,  and  reaches  it 
by  the  direct  route  of  an  hour  instead  of  the  circuitous  grop- 
ings  of  a  day  ;  the  exact  remembrance  impressed  u^wn  child- 
hood to  do  the  errand  as  it  was  bidden  ;  and,  more  than  all,  the 
economy  of  virtue  over  vice  ;  of  restrained  over  pampered  de- 
sires ; — these  things  are  not  set  down  in  the  works  on  Political 
Economy ;  but  they  have  far  more  to  do  with  the  Wealth  of 
Nations  than  any  laws  which  aim  to  regulate  the  balance  of 
trade,  or  any  speculations  on  capital  and  labor,  or  any  of  the 
great  achievements  of  art.  That  vast  variety  of  ways  in 
Avhich  an  intelligent  people  surpass  a  stupid  one,  and  an  exend- 


153 

plaiy  people  an  immoral  one,  has  infinitely  more  to  do  with 
the  well-being  of  a  nation,  than  soil,  or  climate,  or  even  than 
government  itself,  excepting  so  far  as  government  may  prove 
to  be  the  patron  of  intelligence  and  virtue. 

From  her  earliest  colonial  history,  the  policy  of  Massachu- 
setts has  been  to  develop  the  minds  of  all  her  people,  and  to 
imbue  them  with  the  principles  of  duty.  To  do  this  work 
most  effectually,  she  has  begun  it  with  the  young.  If  she 
would  continue  to  mount  higher  and  higher  towards  the  sum- 
mit of  prosperity,  she  must  continue  the  means  by  which  her 
present  elevation  has  been  gained.  In  doing  this,  she  will  not 
only  exercise  the  noblest  prerogative  of  government,  but  will 
cooperate  with  the  Almighty  in  one  of  his  sublimest  works. 

The  Greek  rhetorician  Longinus  quotes  from  the  Mosaic  ac- 
count of  the  creation  Avhat  he  calls  the  sublimest  passage  ever 
uttered:  "God  said,  'Let  there  be  light,'  and  there  was  light." 
From  the  centre  of  black  immensity  effulgence  burst  forth. 
Above,  beneath,  on  every  side,  its  radiance  streamed  out,  silent, 
yet  making  each  spot  in  the  vast  concave  brighter  than  the  line 
which  the  lightning  pencils  upon  the  midnight  cloud.  Dark- 
ness fled,  as  the  swift  beams  spread  onward  and  outward,  in  an 
unending  circumfusion  of  splendor.  Onward  and  outward, 
still  they  move  to  this  day,  glorifying,  through  wider  and  wider 
regions  of  space,  the  infinite  Author  from  whose  power  and 
beneficence  they  sprang.  But  not  only  in  the  beginning  when 
God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  did  he  say  '•  Let  there 
be  light."  Whenever  a  human  soul  is  born  into  the  world,  its 
Creator  stands  over  it,  and  again  pronounces  the  same  sublime 
words,  "Let  there  be  light." 

Magnificent,  indeed,  was  the  material  creation,  when,  sud- 
denly blazing  forth  in  mid  space,  the  new-born  sun  dispelled 
the  darkness  of  the  ancient  night.  But  infinitely  more  mag- 
nificent is  it,  when  the  human  soul  rays  forth  its  subtler  and 
swifter  beams  ; — when  the  light  of  the  senses  irradiates  all  out- 
ward things,  revealing  the  beauty  of  their  colors  and  the  ex- 
quisite symmetry  of  their  proportions  and  forms  ;  when  the 
light  of  reason  penetrates  to  their  invisible  properties  and  laws, 
and  displays  all  those  hidden  relations  that  make  up  all  the 
20 


154 

sciences  ;  when  the  light  of  conscience  illumines  the  moral 
world,  separating  truth  from  error,  and  virtue  from  vice.  The 
light  of  the  newly-kindled  sun,  indeed,  was  glorious.  It  struck 
upon  all  the  planets,  and  waked  into  existence  their  myriad 
capacities  of  life  and  joy.  As  it  rebounded  from  them,  and 
showed  their  vast  orbs  all  wheeling,  circle  beyond  circle,  in 
theii'  stupendous  courses,  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy. 
That  light  sped  onwEird,  beyond  Sirius,  beyond  the  Pole-star, 
beyond  Orion  and  the  Pleiades,  and  is  still  speeding  onward 
into  the  abysses  of  space.  But  the  light  of  the  human  soul 
flies  swifter  than  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  outshines  its  merid- 
ian blaze.  It  can  embrace  not  only  the  sun  of  our  system,  but 
all  suns  and  galaxies  of  suns  ;  ay !  the  soul  is  capable  of  know- 
ing and  of  enjoying  Him  who  created  the  suns  themselves  ; 
and  when  these  starry  lustres  that  now  glorify  the  firmament 
shall  wax  dim,  and  fade  away  like  a  wasted  taper,  the  light 
of  the  soul  shall  still  remain ;  nor  time,  nor  cloud,  nor  any 
power  but  its  own  perversity,  shall  ever  quench  its  brightness. 
Again  I  would  say,  that  whenever  a  human  soul  is  born  into 
;the  world,  God  stands  over  it,  and  pronounces  the  same  sublime 
iiat,  "Let  there  be  light ;"  and  may  the  time  soon  come  when 
all  human  governments  shall  cooperate  with  the  divine  govern- 
ment in  carrying  this  benediction  and  baptism  into  fulfilment. 


155 


LAWS  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 

ON    THE    SUBJECT   OF 

PUBLIC    INSTRUCTION; 

CHRONOLOGICALLY    ARRANGED. 


MASSACHUSETTS    DECLARATION    OF    RIGHTS,    ART.     II. 

"  It  is  the  right,  as  well  as  the  duty,  of  all  men  in  society, 
publicly,  and  at  stated  seasons,  to  worship  the  Supreme  Being, 
the  great  Creator  and  Preserver  of  the  universe.  And  no  sub- 
ject shall  be  hurt,  molested,  or  restrained,  in  his  person,  liberty, 
or  estate,  for  worshipping  GOD  in  the  manner  and  season  most 
agreeable  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience ;  or  for  his 
religious  professions  or  sentiments,  provided  he  doth  not  dis- 
turb the  public  peace,  or  obstruct  others  in  their  religious  wor- 
ship." 

amendments    to    the    constitution    or    MASSACHUSETTS,   ART.    XI. 

"All  religious  sects  and  denominations,  demeaning  them- 
selves peaceably  and  as  good  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth, 
shall  be  equally  under  the  protection  of  the  law ;  and  no  sub- 
ordination of  any  one  sect  or  denomination  to  another  shall 
ever  be  established  by  law." 

CONSTITUTION    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES,    AMENDMENTS,    ART.    I. 

"Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof." 


CHAPTER  169. 

AN    ACT    TO    ESTABLISH    THE    MASSACHUSETTS    SCHOOL    FUND. 

Section 


Section 

L  Moneys  derived  from  the  sale  of  lands  in 
the  state  of  Maine  to  be  appropriated  to 
the  encouragement  of  Common  Schools. 


2.  Investment  of  moneys. 

3.  Income  only  to  be  appropriated. 


Sect.  1.  Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives^ in  General  Court  assembled,  and  hy  the  autJiority  of 
the  same,  That,  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  January  next, 
all  moneys  in  the  treasury,  derived  from  the  sale  of  lands  in 
the  state  of  Maine,  and  from  the  claim  of  the  State  on  the 
government  of  the  United  States  for  military  services,  and  not 
otherwise  appropriated,  together  with  fifty  per  centum  of  all 


156 

moneys  thereafter  to  be  received  from  the  sale  of  lands  in 
Maine,  shall  be  appropriated  to  constitute  a  permanent  fund  for 
the  aid  and  encouragement  of  Common  Schools  :  provided,  that 
said  fund  shall  never  exceed  one  million  of  dollars. 

Sect.  2.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  investment  of  the 
moneys  hereby  ap])ropriated  shall  be  made  by  the  treasurer  and 
receiver  general,  with  the  approbation  of  the  Governor  and 
Council  first  obtained. 

Sect.  3.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  income  only  of 
said  fund  shall  be  appropriated  to  the  aid  and  encouragement 
of  Common  Schools,  and  that  a  just  and  equal  distribution 
thereof  shall  be  made  to  the  city  of  Boston  and  the  several 
towns  and  districts  in  the  Commonwealth,  in  such  manner  as 
the  Legislature  shall  hereafter  appoint  :  provided,  that  there 
never  shall  be  paid  to  any  city,  town  or  district  a  greater  sum 
than  is  raised  therein  respectively  for  the  support  of  Common 
Schools.     [March  31,  1834.] 


Section 

14.  Investment  of  srhool  fund. 


REV.  STAT.— CHAP.   11. 

MONEY    RECEIVED    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES    FOR  MILITIA  SERVICES. 

Section 

13.  Proceeds  of  Maine  lands  and  militia 
claim  appropriated  to  school  fund. 

Sect.  13.  All  moneys  and  stocks  in  the  treasury,  on  the 
first  day  of  January  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty-five,  which  shall  have  been  derived  from  sales  of  the 
Commonwealth's  lands  in  the  state  of  Maine,  and  from  the 
claim  of  the  Commonwealth  on  the  government  of  the  United 
States  for  military  services,  and  which  shall  not  be  otherwise 
appropriated,  together  with  one  half  of  the  moneys  thereafter 
received  from  the  sale  of  lands  in  Maine,  shall  constitute  a 
permanent  fund,  to  be  called  the  Massachusetts  School  Fund, 
for  the  encouragement  of  Common  Schools,  according  to  the 
provisions  of  the  twenty-fourth  chapter  ;  provided,  that  said 
fund  shall  never  exceed  one  million  of  dollars. 

Sect.  14.  The  investment  of  all  moneys,  appropriated  to 
the  said  school  fund,  shall  be  made  by  the  treasurer  of  the 
Commonwealth,  with  the  approbation  of  the  Governor  and 
Council. 


REV.  STAT.— CHAP.  15. 

Sect.  12.  Towns  shall  have  power,  at  any  legal  meeting, 
to  grant  and  vote  such  sums  of  money  as  they  shall  judge 
necessary  for  the  following  [among  many  other]  purposes,  that 
is  to  say  : — For  the  support  of  town  schools.  [See  also,  Rev. 
St.,  ch.  23,  ^  9.] 


157 


REV.  STAT.— CHAP.  23. 


OF    PUBLIC    INSTRUCTION. 


Section 

of  the  public  schools. 

1.  What    schools    shall    be    provided   by 

towns  of  50  families. 

2.  "  '•■  100       " 

3.  "  "  150       " 

4.  "  "  500       " 

5.  Additional  school  in  towns  of  500  fam- 
ilies ; — in  towns  of  4000  inhabitants. 

6.  Towns  of  less   than  500  families,  au- 
thorized to  maintain  school,  &c. 

7.  Duty  of  instructors  in  colleges,  &c. 

8.  '■      ministers  and  town  officers. 

9.  Towns  may  raise  money  for  schools. 

10.  School  committee  to  be  chosen  annu- 
ally. 

11.  Duty  of  school  committee,  where  school 
is  kept  for  benefit  of  all  the  inhabitants. 

12.  School  committees,  additional  members 

of.  in  towns  of  more  than  4000 
inhabitants. 

13.  "       to  examine  as  to  qualifications 

of  instructors. 

14.  Instructors,  not  to  be  paid  unless  the 
committee  certify,  &c. 

15.  Committee,  to  decide  on  admission  of 

scholars  into  schools  kept 
for  the  whole  town. 

16.  '■'  to    visit    ail    the    district 

schools. 

17.  Authority  of  committee  as  to  school 
books. 

18.  Scholars  to  be  supplied  by  their  par- 
ents, &c.,  with  the  books  prescribed. 

19.  Books  may  be  provided  by  school  com- 

mittee. 

20.  "  when  to  be  furnished  to  scholars 
at  expense  of  the  town. 

21.  Expense  of  books  so  supplied,  to  be 
taxed  to  parents,  &:c. 

22.  If  parents,  &c.,  are  unable  to  paj', 
such  tax  for  books  may  be  wholly  or 
partially  omitted. 

23.  Books  not  to  be  bought,  which  favor 
any  particular  sect  of  Christians. 

SCHOOL  DISTRICTS. 

24.  School  districts,  formation  of  in  each 
town. 

25.  Prudential  committee  in  each  district. 

26.  ■'  •'  may    be    chosen 

by  the  districts. 

27.  Clerk  shall  be  chosen  and  sworn,  who 
shall  keep  records,  &c. 

28.  Districts  ma}'  raise  money  for  the  erec- 
tion of  houses  and  other  purposes — may 
fix  the  site  of  sehoolhouses. 

29.  Clerk  liable  only  for  want  of  integrity; 
district  for  illegalit}'  in  assessing  taxes. 

30.  Selectmen,  to  determine  the  places  for 
sehoolhouses,  in  case,  &c. 

31.  If  prudential  committee  is  not  chosen, 
town  committee  shall  perform  his  duties. 

32.  Towiis  may  provide  sehoolhouses,  &c., 
at  common  expense. 

33.  Where  personal  and  real  estate  may  be 
taxed. 

34.  Property  in  manufacturing  corpora- 
tions, where  taxed. 


Section 

35.  Non-resident's  estate,  where  taxed. 

36.  All  lands  of  any  non-resident,  to  be 
taxed  in  one  district. 

37.  School  taxes  assessed  in  same  manner 
as  town  taxes. 

38.  Assessors,  to  issue  warrants  to  collect- 
ors. 

39.  Money  raised,  to  be  at  the  disposal  of 
committees. 

40.  Collectors,  to  have  same  power  as  in 
case  of  town  taxes. 

41.  Treasurers,  to  have  like  powers,  as  in 
case  of  town  taxes. 

42.  Assessors,  <fcc.,  to  have  same  compen- 
sation as  in  ease  of  town  taxes. 

43.  Assessors  may  abate,  as  in  town  taxes. 

44.  If  inhabitants  of  district  refuse  to  raise 
money,  the  town  may  order  it. 

45.  If  districts  neglect  to  establish  schools, 
town  committee  may  do  it. 

46.  Selectmen  or  prudential  connuittee  may 
issue  warrants  for  district  meetings. 

47.  Planner  of  warning  meetings. 

48.  The  districts  may  direct  Ihe  mode  of 
calling  meetings. 

contiguous    school    districts    in    ad- 
joining towns. 

49.  Contiguous  districts,  of  adjoining  towns, 
may  unite  themselves  into  one. 

50.  No  such  union  to  be  formed  without 
consent  of  the  districts  and  towns. 

51.  United  districts  may  be  again  separated. 

32.  First  and  other  meetings  of  united  dis- 
tricts, how  called. 

33.  Prudential  committee  to  be  chosen. 

54.  Moneys  raised,  to  be  in  proportion,  &c. 

55.  Moneys  to  be  assessed  by  assessors  of 
respective  towns. 

56.  School  committees  of  adjoining  towns, 
to  officiate  alternately,  &c. 

GENERAL  PROVISIONS. 

37.  School  districts,  to  be  corporations  for 
certain  purposes. 

58.  Same  subject. 

59.  Provisions  of  this  chapter  not  to  affect 
funds,  &c.,  of  corporations  for  support- 
ing schools. 

60.  Forfeiture,  if  towns  neglect  to  raise 
money  for  schools  ;  and  how  appropri- 
ated. 

61.  School  committee,  &c.,  to  receive  and 
appropriate  sums  forfeited. 

SCHOOL  RETURNS. 

62.  School  committees,  to  make  returns  to 
the  Secretary. 

63.  Returns  respecting  the  school  districts. 

64.  Returns  respecting  all  the  schools  of  a 
town. 

65.  Secretary,  to  furnish  towns  with  blank 
forms  of  returns. 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  SCHOOL  FUND. 

66.  No  allowance  of  school  fund  to  towns 
neglecting  to  make  returns,  or  to  raise 
a  sum  of  money  equal,  &c. 

67.  Manner  of  apportioning  school  fund 
among  towns. 

68.  Allowance  to  the  Marshpee  Indians. 


158 


Section 

regulations  in  furtherance  of  the 
discipline  of  colleges. 
69.  Innholders,  &c..  not  to  "-ive  credit  to 
under  graduates,  except,  iScc. 


Section 

70.  Licenses  not  to  be  granted  to  persons 
violating,  itc. 

71.  Penalty  for  giving  such  credit. 


OF    THE    PUBLIC    SCHOOLS. 

Sect.  1.  In  every  town  containing  fifty  families,  [since  ex- 
tended to  all  towns,  however  few  the  population.  St.  1839, 
eh.  56,  '^  1,]  or  householders,  there  shall  be  kept  in  each  year, 
at  the  charge  of  the  town,  by  a  teacher  or  teachers  of  compe- 
tent ability  and  good  morals,  one  school  for  the  instruction  of 
children  in  orthography,  reading,  writing,  English  grammar, 
geography,  arithmetic,  and  good  behavior,  for  the  term  of  six 
months,  or  t\vo  or  more  such  schools,  for  terms  of  time,  that 
shall  together  be  equivalent  to  six  months. 

Sect.  2.  In  every  town,  containing  one  hundred  families  or 
householders,  there  shall  be  kept  in  each  year  one  such  school, 
for  the  term  of  twelve  months,  or  two  or  more  such  schools, 
for  terms  of  time,  that  shall  together  be  equivalent  to  twelve 
months. 

Sect.  3.  In  every  town,  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty 
families  or  householders,  there  shall  be  kept  in  each  year  two 
such  schools,  for  nine  months  each,  or  three  or  more  such 
schools,  for  terms  of  time,  that  shall  together  be  equivalent  to 
eighteen  months. 

Sect.  4.  In  every  town,  containing  five  hundred  families 
or  householders,  there  shall  be  kept  in  each  year  two  such 
schools  for  twelve  months  each,  or  three  or  more  such  schools, 
for  terms  of  time,  that  shall  together  be  equivalent  to  twenty- 
four  months. 

Sect.  5.  Every  town,  containing  five  hundred  families  or 
householders,  shall,  besides  the  schools  prescribed  in  the  pre- 
ceding section,  maintain  a  school,  to  be  kept  by  a  master  of 
competent  ability  and  good  morals,  who  shall,  in  addition  to 
the  branches  of  learning  before  mentioned,  give  instruction  in 
the  history  of  the  United  States,  book-keeping,  surveying,  ge- 
ometry, and  algebra ;  and  such  last  mentioned  school  shall  be 
kept  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  ten 
months  at  least,  exclusive  of  vacations,  in  each  year,  and  at 
such  convenient  place,  or  alternately  at  such  places  in  the 
town,  as  the  said  inhabitants  at  their  annual  meeting  shall  de- 
termine ;  and,  in  every  town,  containing  four  thousand  inhab- 
itants, the  said  master  shall,  in  addition  to  all  the  branches  of 
instruction,  before  required  in  this  chapter,  be  competent  to  in- 
struct in  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  and  general  history, 
rhetoric,  and  logic.  [This  section  modified  by  St.  1840,  ch. 
76.     Modification  repealed  by  St.  1848,  ch.  283.] 


159 

Sect.  6.  Any  town,  containing  less  than  five  hundred  fam- 
ilies or  householders,  may  establish  and  maintain  such  a  school, 
as  is  first  mentioned  in  the  preceding  section,  for  such  term 
of  time,  in  any  year,  or  in  each  year,  as  they  shall  deem  ex- 
pedient. 

Sect.  7.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  president,  professors, 
and  tutors  of  the  university  at  Cambridge,  and  of  the  several 
colleges,  and  of  all  preceptors  and  teachers  of  academies  and  all 
other  instructors  of  youth,  to  exert  their  best  endeavors,  to  im- 
press on  the  minds  of  children  and  youth,  committed  to  their 
care  and  instruction,  the  principles  of  piety,  justice,  and  a  sa- 
cred regard  to  truth,  love  to  their  country,  humanity  and  uni- 
versal benevolence,  sobriety,  industry,  and  frugality,  chastity, 
moderation,  and  temperance,  and  those  other  virtues,  which 
are  the  ornament  of  human  society,  and  the  basis  upon  which 
a  republican  constitution  is  founded  ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  such  instructors  to  endeavor  to  lead  their  pupils,  as  their 
ages  and  capacities  will  admit,  into  a  clear  understanding  of 
the  tendency  of  the  above-mentioned  virtues  to  preserve  and 
perfect  a  republican  constitution,  and  secure  the  blessings  of 
liberty,  as  well  as  to  promote  their  future  happiness,  and  also 
to  point  out  to  them  the  evil  tendency  of  the  opposite  vices. 

Sect.  8.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  resident  ministers  of 
the  gospel,  the  selectmen,  and  the  school  committees,  in  the 
several  towns,  to  exert  their  influence,  and  use  their  best  en- 
deavors, that  the  youth  of  their  towns  shall  regularly  attend 
the  schools  established  for  their  instruction. 

Sect.  9.  The  several  towns  are  authorized  and  directed,  at 
their  annual  meetings,  or  at  any  regular  meeting  called  for  the 
purpose,  to  raise  such  sums  of  money,  for  the  support  of  the 
schools  aforesaid,  as  they  shall  judge  necessary ;  which  sums 
shall  be  assessed  and  collected  in  like  manner  as  other  town 
taxes.      [See  Rev.  St.,  ch.  15,  <§.  12.] 

Sect.  10.  The  inhabitants  of  every  town  shall,  at  their  an- 
nual meeting,  choose,  by  written  ballots,  a  school  committee, 
consisting  of  three,  five,  or  seven  persons,  who  shall  have  the 
general  charge  and  superintendence  of  all  the  Public  Schools  in 
such  town.  [As  to  the  expiration  of  the  committee's  oflice,  see 
St.  1846,  ch.  223,  »§,  1.] 

Sect.  11.  In  any  town,  containing  five  hundred  families, 
and  in  which  a  school  shall  be  kept  for  the  benefit  of  all  the 
inhabitants,  as  before  provided  in  this  chapter,  the  school  com- 
mittee, chosen  under  the  preceding  section,  shall  perform  all 
the  like  duties,  in  relation  to  such  school,  the  house  where  it 
shall  be  kept,  and  the  supply  of  all  things  necessary  therefor, 
which  the  prudential  committee  of  a  school  district  may  per- 
form in  such  district. 


160 

Sect.  12.  Any  town,  containing  more  than  four  thousand 
inhabitants,  may  choose  an  additional  number,  not  exceeding 
six,  on  such  committee. 

Sect.  13.  The  school  committee  shall  require  full  and  satis- 
factory evidence  of  the  good  moral  character  of  all  instructors, 
who  may  be  employed  in  the  Public  Schools  in  their  town,  and 
shall  ascertain,  by  personal  examination,  their  literary  qualifi- 
cations and  capacity  for  the  government  of  schools. 

Sect.  14.  Every  instructor  of  a  town  or  district  school 
shall  obtain,  of  the  school  committee  of  such  town,  a  certifi- 
cate in  duplicate  of  his  qualifications,  before  he  opens  such 
school,  one  of  which  shall  be  filed  with  the  town  treasurer,  be- 
fore any  payment  is  made  to  such  instructor  on  account  of  his 
services. 

Sect.  15.  The  school  committee  shall  determine  the  num- 
ber and  qualifications  of  the  scholars,  to  be  admitted  into  the 
school,  kept  for  the  use  of  the  whole  town  as  aforesaid,  and 
visit  such  school,  at  least  quarter  ^'"early,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  a  careful  examination  thereof,  and  of  ascertaining  that 
the  scholars  are  properly  supplied  with  books ;  and  they  shall, 
at  such  examination,  inquire  into  the  regulation  and  discipline 
of  the  school,  and  the  habits  and  proficiency  of  the  scholars 
therein. 

Sect.  16.  The  school  committee,  or  some  one  or  more  of 
them,  shall,  for  the  purposes  aforesaid,  visit  each  of  the  district 
schools  in  their  town,  on  some  day  during  the  first  or  second 
week  after  the  opening  of  such  schools,  respectively,  and  also 
on  some  day  during  the  two  weeks  preceding  the  closing  of 
the  same ;  and  shall  also,  for  the  same  purposes,  visit  all  the 
schools  kept  by  the  town,  once  a  month,  without  giving  pre- 
vious notice  thereof  to  the  instructors. 

Sect.  17.  The  school  committee  of  each  town  shall  direct 
what  books  shall  be  used  in  the  several  schools  kept  by  the 
town ;  and  may  direct  what  books  shall  be  used  in  the  respec- 
tive classes. 

Sect.  18.  The  scholars  at  the  town  schools  shall  be  sup- 
plied by  their  parents,  masters,  or  guardians,  with  the  books 
prescribed  for  their  classes. 

Sect.  19.  The  school  committee  of  each  town  may  procure, 
at  the  expense  of  the  town,  or  otherwise,  a  sufficient  supply  of 
such  class  books,  for  all  the  schools  aforesaid,  and  shall  give 
notice  of  the  place,  where  such  books  may  be  obtained ;  and 
the  books  shall  be  supplied  to  the  scholars,  at  such  prices,  as 
merely  to  reimburse  the  expense  of  the  same. 

Sect.  20.  In  case  any  scholar  shall  not  be  furnished  by  his 
parent,  master,  or  guardian,  with  the  requisite  books,  he  shall 


n 

161 

be  supplied  therewith  by  the  school  committee,  at  the  expense 
of  the  town. 

Sect.  21.  The  school  committee  shall  give  notice,  in  writ- 
ing, to  the  assessors  of  the  town,  of  the  names  of  the  scholars 
so  supplied  by  them  with  books,  and  of  the  books  so  furnished, 
the  prices  thereof,  and  the  names  of  the  parents,  masters,  or 
guardians,  who  ought  to  have  supplied  the  same  ;  and  said  as- 
sessors shall  add  the  price  of  the  books  so  supplied,  to  the  next 
annual  tax  of  such  parents,  masters,  or  guardians ;  and  the 
amount  so  added  shall  be  levied,  collected,  and  paid  into  the 
town  treasury,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  town  taxes. 

Sect.  22.  In  case  the  assessors  shall  be  of  opinion,  that  any 
such  parent,  master,  or  guardian,  is  unable  to  pay  the  whole 
expense  of  the  books  so  supplied  on  his  account,  they  shall 
omit  to  add  the  price  of  such  books,  or  shall  add  only  a  part 
thereof,  to  the  annual  tax  of  such  parent,  master,  or  guardian, 
according  to  their  opinion  of  his  ability  to  pay. 

Sect.  23.  The  school  committee  shall  never  direct  to  be 
purchased  or  used,  in  any  of  the  town  schools,  any  school 
books  which  are  calculated  to  favor  the  tenets  of  any  particu- 
lar sect  of  Christians. 

SCHOOL    DISTRICTS. 

Sect.  24.  The  inhabitants  of  every  town  may,  at  any  town 
meeting  to  be  called  for  that  purpose,  divide  their  town  into 
school  districts,  and  determine  the  limits  of  such  districts,  [this 
power  of  towns  limited  in  a  certain  case.  St.  1849,  ch.  206,] 
or  they  may,  if  they  think  it  expedient,  carry  into  effect  the 
provisions  of  this  chapter,  without  forming  such  districts. 

Sect.  25.  Every  town,  which  is  or  may  be  divided  into 
school  districts,  shall,  at  their  annual  meeting,  in  addition  to 
the  school  committee  for  the  town,  choose  one  person,  [or 
three,  in  a  certain  class  of  cases.  St.  1839,  ch.  137,]  resident 
in  each  school  district,  to  be  a  committee  for  that  district,  and 
to  be  called  the  prudential  committee ;  who  shall  keep  the 
schoolhouse  of  such  district  in  good  order,  at  the  expense  of 
the  district ;  and,  in  case  there  be  no  schoolhouse,  provide  a 
suitable  place  for  the  school  of  the  district,  at  the  expense 
thereof;  provide  fuel,  and  all  things  necessary  for  the  comfort 
of  the  scholars  therein  ;  select  and  contract  with  a  schoolmaster 
for  the  district  ;  [if  the  town  shall  expressly  so  vote.  St. 
1838,  ch.  105,  *§)  2,]  and  give  such  information  and  assistance 
to  the  school  committee  of  the  town,  as  may  be  necessary  to 
aid  them  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  required  of  them. 

Sect.  26.     In  any  town,  which  shall  so  determine,  the  said 
prudential  committee  may  be  chosen  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
several  school  districts,  to  which  they  respectively  belong,  in 
such  manner  as  the  district  may  direct. 
21 


162 

Sect.  27.  The  inhabitants  of  each  school  district,  quahfied 
to  vote  in  town  affairs,  shall  choose  a  clerk,  who  shall  be  sworn 
to  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  by  the  mod- 
erator, in  open  meeting,  or  by  any  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
who  shall  make  a  fair  record  of  all  votes,  passed  at  any  meet- 
ing of  the  district,  and  certify  the  same  when  required,  and 
who  shall  hold  his  office  until  another  shall  be  chosen  and 
sworn  in  his  stead. 

Sect.  28.  The  said  inhabitants  may,  at  any  meeting  called 
for  that  purpose,  raise  money  for  erecting  or  repairing  school- 
houses  in  their  respective  districts ;  for  purchasing  or  hiring 
any  buildings  to  be  used  as  schoolhouses,  and  land  for  the  use 
and  accommodation  thereof;  [see  St.  1848,  ch.  237,]  for  pur- 
chasing fuel,  furniture,  and  other  necessary  articles  for  the  use 
of  schools ;  they  may  also  determine,  in  what  part  of  their 
respective  districts  such  schoolhouses  shall  stand,  and  may 
choose  any  committee  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  afore- 
said ;  and  they  may  also,  by  the  prudential  committee  of  the 
district,  select,  contract  with,  and  employ,  an  instructor  for 
each  school  in  the  district. 

Sect.  29.  The  clerk  of  a  school  district  shall  be  answerable 
only  for  want  of  integrity  on  his  own  part ;  and,  if  he  shall 
certify  truly,  to  the  assessors  of  the  town,  the  votes  of  the  dis- 
trict for  raising  by  a  tax  any  sum  of  mone}'',  the  district  shall 
be  liable,  in  case  of  any  illegality  in  the  proceedings,  which 
may  have  been  had,  in  relation  to  raising  such  money. 

Sect.  30.  If  any  school  district  cannot  determine  where  to 
place  their  schoolhouse,  the  selectmen  of  the  town,  to  which 
the  district  belongs,  upon  application  made  to  them  by  the 
committee  appointed  to  build  or  procure  the  schoolhouse,  or 
by  five  or  more  of  the  legal  voters  of  the  district,  shall  deter- 
mine where  such  schoolhouse  shall  be  placed. 

Sect.  31.  In  all  cases,  where  a  prudential  committee  shall 
not  be  chosen  for  any  school  district,  the  school  committee  of 
the  town  shall  perform  all  the  duties  of  the  prudential  commit- 
tee thereof. 

Sect.  32.  The  inhabitants  of  every  town  may,  if  they  shall 
think  it  expedient,  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  the  twen- 
ty-eighth section,  at  the  common  expense  of  the  town,  so  far 
as  relates  to  providing  schoolhouses  for  the  several  school  dis- 
tricts of  the  town ;  and  the  town  in  such  case  may,  at  any  le- 
gal meeting,  raise  money  and  adopt  all  other  proper  measures 
for  this  piu-pose. 

Sect.  33.  In  raising  and  assessing  money  in  the  several 
school  districts,  every  inhabitant  of  the  district  shall  be  taxed, 
in  the  district  in  which  he  lives,  for  all  his  personal  estate,  and 
for  all  the  real  estate  which  he  holds  in  the  town,  being  under 


163 

his  own  actual  improvement ;  and  all  other  of  his  real  estate, 
in  the  same  town,  shall  be  taxed  in  the  district  in  which  it  lies. 
[See  St.  1839,  ch.  139,  *§>  1.] 

Sect.  34.  In  the  assessment  of  all  taxes,  pursuant  to  the 
preceding  section,  all  real  estate  and  machinery,  belonging  to 
manufacturing  corporations,  shall  be  taxed  in  the  school  dis- 
tricts where  the  same  are  situated ;  and  in  assessing  the  shares 
in  such  corporation,  for  the  like  purposes,  the  value  of  said  ma- 
chinery and  real  estate  shall  be  first  deducted  from  the  value  of 
such  shares.     [See  St.  1839,  ch.  139,  >^  1.] 

Sect.  35.  Whenever  the  real  estate  of  a  non-resident  owner 
shall  be  taxed  to  such  owner,  it  may  be  taxed  in  such  district 
as  the  assessors  of  the  town  shall  determine ;  and  the  said  as- 
sessors, before  they  assess  a  tax  for  any  district,  shall  determine 
in  which  district  the  lands  of  any  such  non-resident  shall  be 
taxed,  and  certify,  in  writing,  their  determination  to  the  clerk 
of  the  town,  who  shall  record  the  same ;  and  such  land,  while 
owned  by  any  person  resident  without  the  limits  of  the  town, 
shall  be  taxed  in  such  district  accordingly,  until  the  town  shall 
be  districted  anew.     [See  St.  1849,  ch.  206.] 

Sect.  36.  All  the  lands,  within  any  town,  owned  by  the 
same  person,  not  living  therein,  shall  be  taxed  in  the  same 
district. 

Sect.  37.  The  assessors  of  the  town  shall  assess,  in  the 
same  manner  as  town  taxes  are  assessed,  on  the  polls  and  es- 
tates of  the  inhabitants  of  each  school  district,  and  on  all  lands 
liable  to  be  taxed  therein,  as  aforesaid,  all  moneys  voted  to  be 
raised  by  the  inhabitants  of  such  districts,  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid ;  and  such  assessment  shall  be  made  within  thirty 
days  after  the  clerk  of  the  district  shall  certify  to  said  assessors 
the  sum  voted  by  the  district  to  be  raised. 

Sect.  38.  The  said  assessors  shall  make  a  warrant,  substan- 
tially in  the  form  heretofore  used,  except  that  a  seal  shall  not 
be  required  thereto,  directed  to  one  of  the  collectors  of  the 
town,  to  which  such  district  belongs,  requiring  him  to  collect 
the  tax  so  assessed,  and  to  pay  the  same  to  the  treasurer  of  the 
town  within  a  time  to  be  limited  in  the  warrant ;  and  a  certifi- 
cate of  the  assessment  shall  be  made  by  the  assessors,  and  de- 
livered to  the  said  treasurer. 

Sect.  39.  The  money  so  collected  and  paid  shall  be  at  the 
disposal  of  the  committee  appointed  by  the  district,  to  be  by 
them  applied  to  the  building  or  repairing  of  schoolhouses,  or 
to  the  purchase  of  buildings  to  be  used  as  schoolhouses,  or  to 
the  purchase  of  land  for  the  sites  of  schoolhouses,  as  before 
provided,  and  according  to  the  votes  or  directions  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  district.     [See  St.  1848,  ch.  274.] 

Sect.   40.     Every  collector,   in  collecting   such   tax,  shall 


164 

have  the  same  powers,  and  proceed  in  the  same  manner,  as  is 
by  law  provided  in  collecting  town  taxes. 

Sect.  41.  The  treasurer  of  any  town,  to  whom  a  certifi- 
cate of  the  assessment  of  a  district  tax  shall  be  transmitted  as 
aforesaid,  shall  have  the  like  authority,  to  enforce  the  collection 
and  ])ayment  of  the  money  so  assessed  and  certified,  as  in  the 
case  of  moneys  raised  by  the  town,  for  the  use  of  the  town. 

Sect.  42.  The  assessors,  treasurer  and  collector  shall  have 
the  same  compensation,  respectively,  for  assessing,  collecting 
and  paying  out  all  moneys,  assessed  for  the  use  of  a  school 
district,  as  is  allowed  by  the  town  for  the  like  services  in 
respect  to  town  taxes. 

Sect.  43.  The  assessors  of  the  several  towns  shall  have 
the  same  power  to  abate  the  tax,  or  any  part  thereof,  assessed 
on  any  inhabitant  of  a  school  district,  as  they  have  to  abate 
any  town  taxes. 

Sect.  44.  Whenever  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  any 
school  district  shall  be  called,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  money, 
and  a  majority  of  the  voters  present  shall  be  opposed  to  the 
raising  of  the  money,  any  five  inhabitants  of  such  school  dis- 
trict, who  pay  taxes,  may  make  application  in  writing  to  the 
selectmen  of  the  town,  in  which  the  school  district  is  situated, 
requesting  them  to  insert,  in  their  warrant  for  the  next  town 
meeting,  an  article  requiring  the  opinion  of  the  town  relative 
to  the  expediency  of  raising  such  moneys  as  were  proposed  in 
the  warrant  for  said  district  meeting  ;  and  if  the  majority  of 
the  voters,  present  in  such  town  meeting,  shall  think  the  rais- 
ing of  any  of  the  sums  of  money,  proposed  in  said  warrant, 
to  be  necessary  and  expedient,  they  may  vote  such  sum  as 
they  shall  think  necessary  for  the  said  purposes,  [and  may 
appoint  a  committee  to  expend  it.  St.  1848,  ch.  274,  *§>  1,] 
and  the  same  shall  be  assessed  on  the  polls  and  estates  of  the 
inhabitants  of  such  district,  and  be  collected  and  paid  over,  in 
the  manner  before  provided. 

Sect.  45.  If  any  school  district  shall  neglect  or  refuse  to 
establish  a  school  and  employ  a  teacher  for  the  same,  the 
school  committee  of  the  town  may  establish  such  school,  and 
employ  a  teacher  therefor,  as  the  prudential  committee  might 
have  done. 

Sect.  46.  The  selectmen  of  the  several  towns,  divided 
into  school  districts  as  aforesaid,  and  the  prudential  committee 
of  every  such  district,  upon  application  made  to  them,  respec- 
tively, in  writing,  by  three  or  more  residents  in  any  district 
who  pay  taxes,  shall  issue  their  warrant,  directed  to  one  of  the 
persons  making  such  application,  requiring  him  to  warn  the 
inhabitants  of  such  district,  qualified  to  vote  in  town  affairs,  to 


165 

meet  at  such  time  and  place  in  the  same  district,  as  shall  be 
expressed  in  the  warrant. 

Sect.  47.  The  warning  aforesaid  shall  be  given  seven  days 
at  least  before  the  time  appointed  for  the  meeting,  and  shall  be 
either  by  personal  notice  to  every  inhabitant  of  the  district 
qualified  to  vote  in  town  affairs,  or  by  leaving,  at  his  last  and 
usual  place  of  abode,  a  written  notification,  expressing  therein 
the  time,  place,  and  purpose  of  the  meeting,  unless  the  district 
shall  prescribe  another  mode  of  warning  their  meetings. 

Sect.  48.  Every  school  district  may,  at  any  regular  meet- 
ing, having  an  article  in  the  warrant  for  that  purpose,  pre- 
scribe the  mode  of  warning  all  future  meetings  of  the  district  ; 
and  they  may  also  direct  by  whom  and  in  what  manner  such 
meetings  shall  be  called, 

CONTIGUOUS    SCHOOL    DISTRICTS    IN    ADJOINING    TOWNS. 

Sect.  49.  Where  two  or  more  contiguous  school  districts, 
in  adjoining  towns,  are  too  small  to  maintain  schools  advan- 
tageously in  each,  such  districts  may,  if  they  see  fit,  unite  and 
form  one  district,  with  all  the  powers  and  privileges,  and  sub- 
ject to  all  the  liabilities,  which  now  are,  or  hereafter  may  be, 
allowed  or  prescribed  in  regard  to  school  districts. 

Sect.  50.  No  districts  shall  be  so  united,  unless  the  inhabit- 
ants of  each  shall,  at  legal  meetings  called  for  the  purpose, 
agree  thereto  ;  nor,  unless  the  respective  towns  shall,  at  legal 
town  meetings  called  for  the  purpose,  assent  to  the  same  ;  and 
when  any  such  vote  shall  be  passed  by  any  school  district,  the 
clerk  thereof  shall  forthwith  send  a  certified  copy  of  said  vote 
to  the  clerk  of  his  town. 

Sect.  51.  Whenever  the  voters  in  such  united  district  shall, 
at  any  legal  meeting  called  for  the  purpose,  deem  it  expedient 
to  separate,  and  again  form  two  or  more  districts,  they  may  so 
do,  first  obtaining  the  consent  of  the  respective  towns. 

Sect.  52.  The  first  meeting  of  such  united  district  shall 
be  called  in  such  manner  as  may  be  agreed  upon  by  the  respec- 
tive districts,  at  the  time  of  forming  the  union ;  and  the  united 
district  may,  from  time  to  time  thereafter,  prescribe  the  mode 
of  calling  and  warning  the  meetings,  in  like  manner  as  other 
school  districts  may  do. 

Sect.  53.  Such  district,  at  the  first  meeting,  and  annually 
thereafter,  shall  choose  a  prudential  committee,  who  shall  re- 
ceive and  expend  the  money,  raised  and  appropriated  in  each 
town,  for  said  united  district,  and  shall  possess  all  the  powers, 
and  discharge  all  the  duties,  allowed  or  prescribed  to  the  pru- 
dential committees  of  other  districts. 

Sect.  54.  The  inhabitants  of  every  such  united  district 
shall,  at  the  time  of  voting  to  raise  such  moneys,  determine 
the  amount  to  be  paid  by  the  inhabitants  in  each  town,  which 


166 

shall  be  in  proportion  to  their  respective  polls  and  estates  ;  and 
the  clerk  of  the  district  shall  certify  such  vote  to  the  assessors 
of  each  of  the  said  towns. 

Sect.  o5.  All  moneys,  duly  voted  to  be  raised  by  any  such 
united  district,  shall  be  assessed,  by  the  assessors  of  the  respec- 
tive towns,  upon  the  polls  and  estates  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
district,  and  collected  in  the  same  manner  that  taxes  are  as- 
sessed and  collected  in  other  school  districts. 

Sect.  56.  The  respective  school  committees  of  the  towns, 
from  which  such  united  district  is  formed,  shall  discharge  the 
duties  of  school  committees  for  the  district,  in  alternate  years, 
commencing  with  the  most  ancient  town. 

GENERAL    PROVISIONS. 

Sect.  57.  Every  school  district  shall  be  a  body  corporate, 
so  far  as  to  prosecute  and  defend  in  all  actions  relating  to  the 
property  or  affairs  of  the  district. 

Sect.  58.  They  shall  also  have  power,  as  a  corporation,  to 
take  and  hold,  in  fee  simple  or  otherwise,  any  estate,  real  or 
personal,  which  has  been,  or  may  be  given  to,  or  purchased  by 
them,  for  the  supporting  of  a  school  or  schools  in  the  district. 

Sect.  59.  Nothing  contained  in  this  chapter  shall  atfect  the 
right  of  any  corporation,  which  is  or  may  be  established  in 
any  town,  to  manage  any  estate  or  funds  given  or  obtained 
for  the  purpose  of  supporting  schools  therein,  or,  in  any  wise, 
to  aifect  any  such  estate  or  funds  ;  but  such  corporate  powers 
and  such  estate  and  funds  shall  remain,  as  if  these  provisions 
had  not  been  enacted. 

Sect.  60.  If  any  towns  shall  refuse  or  neglect  to  raise 
money  for  the  support  of  schools,  as  required  by  this  chapter, 
such  town  shall  forfeit  a  sum,  equal  to  twice  the  highest  sum 
which  had  ever  before  been  voted  for  the  support  of  schools 
therein :  and,  if  any  town  shall  refuse  or  neglect  to  choose  a 
school  committee  to  superintend  said  schools,  or  to  choose,  for 
the  puri)oses  before  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  prudential  com- 
mittees in  their  several  districts,  when  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
town  to  choose  such  prudential  committee,  such  town  shall 
forfeit  a  sum  not  less  than  one  hundred  nor  more  than  two 
hundred  dollars,  which  shall  be  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the 
coimty  ;  and  one  fourth  thereof  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the 
county,  and  three  fourths  thereof  shall  be  paid  by  the  county 
treasurer  to  the  school  committee  of  such  town,  if  any,  and  if 
not,  to  the  selectmen  of  the  town,  for  the  support  of  schools 
therein. 

Sect.  61.  Every  such  school  committee,  or  board  of  select- 
men, shall  forthwith  receive,  from  the  treasurer  of  the  county, 
any  money  so  payable  to  them,  and  shall  apportion  and  appro- 
priate the  same,  to  the  support  of  the  schools  of  such  town,  in 


167 

the  same  manner  it  should  have  been  appropriated,  if  it  had 
been  regularly  raised  by  the  town  for  that  purpose. 

SCHOOL    RETURNS. 

[Sections  62.63,  64,  G5,  6G,  and  67,  relating-  to  "School  Returns"  and  tiic  ''Distribution 
of  the  School  Fund,"  have  all  been  repealed  or  superseded  by  subsequent  enactments.] 

Sect.  62.  The  school  committees  of  the  several  towns  and  of  the  city  of  Boston  shall, 
on  or  before  the  first  day  of  November,  in  each  year,  make  official  returns,  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Commonwealth,  of  all  the  Public  Schools  in  such  towns  and  city  respectively,  whether 
such  schools  are  kept  for  school  districts,  or  for  the  common  benefit  of  all  the  inhabitants  ; 
which  said  school  returns  shall  be  made,  as  is  provided  in  the  two  following  sections. 

Sect.  6;5.  The  said  school  returns  shall,  so  far  as  respects  the  school  districts  of  each 
town,  contain  true  answers  to  the  following  inquiries  concerning  said  school  districts,  and 
shall  be  made  in  the  following  form  : — 


Children  not  at- 

Children  at-     tending  Common 
tending  Com-  Schoolsanyportion 

Time  of 
keeping 

Instruct- 

Wages in 
money,   exclu- 

Price of 
Board  per 

0 

mon  Schools,  lof  the  year,  from  4 

School. 

or 

sive  of  board. 

week. 

'■2 

to  16  years  of  age. 

\ 

From  4  to 

, 

<J 

m 

16  yrs.  of 
age. 

*  6 

6 

o 

6 

h 
S 

.5 
0  c 

0    K 

6 

M 

5  a 

>    0) 

<- 

E 

0) 

fa 

— 
> 

5 

6 

ta 

2 
fa 

0) 

=    d 

a 

E 
0 
fa 

*c 

i"5 

0  a 

.Sect.  64.  The  said  school  returns  shall,  in  addition  to  the  answers  required  by  the  pre- 
ceding section,  concerning  the  school  districts  in  each  town,  contain  also  true  answers  to  the 
following  general  inquiries  respecting  all  the  schools  kept  in  such  town ;  and  shall  be  in  the 
following  form  : — 

InqJiiries  with  respect  to  all  the  schools  in  the  town. 

1. — What  amount  of  money  is  raised  by  taxes  in  the  town,  for  supporting  the  Common 
Schools  ;  and  what  by  voluntary  contributions  ? 

2. — What  part  of  the  money  raised  by  taxes  is  paid  for  furniture,  wood,  and  incidental 
expenses,  and  what  part  for  instruction  only  ? 

3. — Are  there  any  private  schools  or  academies ;  what  portion  of  the  3'ear  have  they  been 
kept;  and  what  is  the  average  number,  in  the  .year,  attending  them  ? 

4.— What  is  the  estimated  amount  paid  for  tuition  in  such  schools  and  academies  ? 

5. — Are  the  school  committees  regularly  chosen  each  year ;  do  they  organize  themselves 
as  a  committee,  and  do  they  visit  and  examine  the  schools  as  required  by  law;  how  are  the 
examinations  conducted  ? 

6. — Do  parents  interest  themselves  in  the  character  of  the  schools,  and  attend  the  exami- 
nations ? 

7. — What  are  the  books  in  general  use  ;  specifj'ing  spelling  books,  grammars,  arithmetics, 
geographies,  reading  and  other  books  ? 

8. — Who  selects  books  ? 

9. — What  is  the  furniture  of  the  schoolhouse,  and  the  apparatus,  including  maps  ? 

10. — Is  it  desirable  to  increase  the  number  of  studies  ? 

11. — Are  there  any  local  funds  ? 

Sect.  65.  The  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  shall  annually  furnish  every  town  with 
blank  forms  of  returns,  corresponding  to  the  forms  contained  in  the  two  preceding  sections. 

DISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    SCHOOL    FUND. 

Sect.  66.  No  apportionment  of  the  school  fund,  as  provided  in  the  following  sections, 
shall  be  made  to  any  town,  which  shall  have  failed  to  make  school  returns,  for  the  year  next 
preceding  the  time  of  such  apportionment,  or  which  .shall  have  failed,  at  the  annual  meeting 
preceding  the  time  when  the  annual  appropriation  shall  be  made,  to  raise  by  taxation,  for 
paying  the  wages  of  instructors  solely,  a  sum  equal  at  least  to  one  dollar  for  each  person 
belonging  to  said  town  on  the  first  day  of  May  preceding,  between  the  ages  of  four  and 
sixteen  years. 

Sect.  67.  The  income  of  the  Massachusetts  School  Fund,  except  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
dollars  mentioned  in  the  following  section,  shall  be  apportioned  by  the  secretary  and  treas- 
urer, and  paid  over  by  the  treasurer,  on  the  fifteenth  of  January  in  each  year,  to  the  maj'or 
and  aldermen  of  the  city  of  Boston,  and   to  the  selectmen  of  the  several  towns,  for  the  use 


168 

of  Common  Schools  therein,  which  shall  have  made  the  returns,  and  raised  the  sums  of 
money  required  by  tlic  preceding  section,  and  which  shall  have  returned  to  the  secretary 
tlie  certificate  required  by  this  section,  according  to  the  number  of  persons  in  such  city  and 
towns,  between  the  iges  of  four  and  sixteen  years,  to  be  enumerated  and  ascertained  in  the 
following  manner,  to  wit :  the  school  committee  of  each  town  shall,  annually,  in  the  montlis 
of  May  or  June,  ascertain  from  actual  examination,  or  othenvise,  the  number  of  persons 
belonging  to  such  town  on  the  first  day  of  May  in  each  year,  between  the  ages  of  four  and 
sixteen  years,  and  shall  make  a  certificate  thereof,  and  also  of  the  sum  raised  by  the  town 
at  the  ainiual  meeting  in  the  same  year,  for  paying  the  wages  of  instructors  solely,  and 
shall  transmit  the  same  to  the  Secretary  of  ihe  Commonwealth,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of 
November  following,  which  certificate  shall  be  in  the  following  form,  to  wit : 

We,  the  school  committee  of  ,  do  certify,  from  the  best  information  we  have  been 

able  to  obtain,  that  on  the  first  day  of  May,  in  the  year  ,  tlicre  were  belonging  to 

said  town  the  number  of  persons,  between  the  ages  of  four  and  si.xteen  years;  and  we 

further  certify,  that  said  towii,  at  their  last  annual  meeting,  raised  the  sum  of  dollars, 

to  pay  the  wages  of  instructors  solely,  in  the  Common  Schools  for  the  current  year. 

>  School  Committee. 


On  this  day  of  ,  personally  appeared  the  above-named  school  committee 

of  the  town  of  ,  and  made  oath  that  the  above  certificate  by  them  subscribed  is  true. 

Before  me, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Sect.  68,  There  shall  be  allowed  and  paid,  out  of  the 
income  of  said  Massachusetts  School  Fund,  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  dollars,  on  the  first  day  of  January  annually,  to  the 
commissioner  of  the  Marshpee  Indians,  to  be  applied,  under 
his  direction,  to  the  support  of  Common  Schools  among  the 
said  Indians. 

REGULATIONS    IN    FURTHERANCE   OF    THE   DISCIPLINE    OF 
COLLEGES. 

Sect.  69.  No  innholder,  tavern  keeper,  retailer,  confec- 
tioner, or  keeper  of  any  shop,  or  boarding-house,  for  the  sale 
of  drink  or  food,  or  any  livery  stable  keeper,  for  horse  or  car- 
riage hire,  shall  give  credit  to  any  undergraduate  of  either  of 
the  colleges  within  this  State,  without  the  consent  of  the  pres- 
ident, or  of  such  officer  as  may  be  thereto  authorized  b)'^  the 
governments  of  such  colleges,  respectively,  nor  in  violation  of 
any  rules  and  regulations  of  said  colleges. 

Sect.  70.  No  person  shall  be  approved,  by  the  selectmen 
of  any  town,  to  be  licensed  for  either  of  the  employments 
aforementioned,  nor  shall  any  such  license  be  granted  to  any 
person,  if  it  shall  appear  that  he  has,  within  the  year  then  last 
past,  given  credit  to  any  undergraduate  of  said  colleges,  con- 
trary to  the  provisions  of  this  chapter. 

Sect.  71.  If  any  person  shall  give  credit  to  any  undergrad- 
uate of  a  college,  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  chapter,  he 
shall  forfeit  a  sum  equal  to  the  amount  so  unlawfully  trusted 
or  credited,  whether  the  same  shall  have  been  paid  or  not. 
[Nov.  4,  1835.] 


169 


REV.    STAT.— CHAP.    41. 

OF    LIBRARY    CORPORATIONS    AND    LYCEUMS. 


Section 

social  libraries. 

1.  Proprietors  of  libraries  may  constitute 
themselves  a  corporation. 

2.  Choice  of  officers. 

3.  Powers  and  liabilities  of  such  corpora- 
tion. I  ty  lyceums 

4.  Treasurer  to  give  bond.  ' 


Section 

5.  Assessments,  by-laws,  transfers,  &r. 

6.  Corporation  may  hold  real  and  person- 
al estate. 

town  and  county  LYCEUMS. 

7.  Incorporation,  &c.,  of  town  and  couu- 


SOCIAL    LIBRARIES. 

Sect.  1.  Any  seven  or  more  proprietors  of  a  library  may 
form  themselves  into  a  corporation,  under  such  corporate  name 
as  they  shall  adopt,  for  the  purpose  of  preserving,  enlarging, 
and  using  such  library  ;  and,  for  that  purpose,  any  justice  of 
the  peace  may,  on  the  application  of  five  or  more  of  such  pro- 
prietors, issue  his  warrant  to  one  of  them,  directing  him  to  call 
a  meeting  of  the  proprietors,  at  the  time  and  place  and  for  the 
purposes  expressed  in  the  warrant ;  and  said  meeting  shall  be 
called,  by  posting  up  the  substance  of  the  warrant  in  some 
public  place,  in  the  town  where  the  said  library  is  kept,  seven 
days  at  least  before  the  time  of  the  meeting. 

Sect.  2.  Any  seven  or  more  of  the  proprietors  of  such 
library,  met  in  pursuance  of  such  notice,  may  choose  a  presi- 
dent, a  clerk,  who  shall  be  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of 
his  duty,  a  librarian,  collector,  treasurer,  and  such  other  officers 
as  they  may  find  necessary ;  and  they  may  also  determine  upon 
the  mode  of  calling  future  meetings. 

Sect.  3.  When  such  proprietors  shall  be  organized  as  a 
corporation,  in  the  manner  before  provided,  they  shall  have  all 
the  powers  and  privileges,  and  be  subject  to  all  tbe  duties  and 
liabilities,  of  a  corporation  organized  according  to  the  provis- 
ions of  the  forty-fourth  chapter,  so  far  as  tiie  said  provisions 
shall  be  applicable  in  such  case,  and  not  inconsistent  with  this 
chapter. 

Sect.  4.  The  treasurer  shall  give  bond,  with  sufficient 
sureties,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  proprietors,  for  the  faithful 
discharge  of  his  duties. 

Sect.  5.  The  said  proprietors  may  raise  such  money,  by 
assessments  on  the  several  shares,  as  they  shall  judge  necessary 
for  the  purposes  of  preserv^ing,  enlarging  and  using  the  library ; 
and  the  shares  may  he  transferred  according  to  the  provisions 
of  the  forty-fourth  chapter. 

Sect.  6.     The  said  proprietors  may  hold  real  and  personal 
estate,  to  any  amount  not  exceeding  five  thousand  dollars,  in 
addition  to  the  value  of  their  books. 
22 


170 

TOWN    AND    COUNTY    LYCEUMS. 

Sect.  7.  Any  twenty  or  more  persons,  in  any  town  or 
county  within  this  State,  who  shall,  by  writing,  associate  for 
the  purpose  of  mutual  improvement  and  the  promotion  of  com- 
mon education,  may  become  a  corporation  by  the  name  of 
"  The  Lyceum  of  the  town  of"  (here  insert  the  name  of  the 
town,)  or  '•  The  Lyceum  of  the  county  of"  (here  insert  the 
name  of  the  county,)  as  the  case  may  be,  by  calling  their  first 
meeting  and  being  organized,  in  like  manner  as  is  provided  in 
this  chapter  in  the  case  of  social  libraries ;  and  every  lyceum, 
upon  becoming  a  corporation  as  aforesaid,  shall  have,  during 
the  pleasure  of  the  Legislature,  all  the  like  rights,  powers,  and 
privileges  as  the  proprietors  of  such  libraries,  and  may  hold 
real  and  personal  estate  not  exceeding  ten  thousand  dollars. 
[See  St.  1846,  ch.  94.] 


CHAPTER   245. 

AN     ACT     TO     PROVIDE     FOR    THE     BETTER    INSTRUCTION     OF    YOUTH 
EMPLOYED    IN    MANUFACTURING    ESTABLISHMENTS. 


Section 

2.  Penalty  on  owners,  &c.,  for  employ- 
ing children  contrary  to  this  statute — 
and  to  what  use  and  how  recoverable. 


Section 

1.  Children  under  15  years  of  age  not  to 
be  employed  in  factories,  unless  they 
have  attended  school  3  months  in  the 
preceding  year. 

Sect.  1.  From  and  after  the  first  day  of  April,  in  the  year 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-seven,  no  child  under  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  shall  be  employed  to  labor  in  any  manufacturing 
establishment,  unless  such  child  shall  have  attended  some 
public  or  private  day  school,  where  instruction  is  given  by  a 
teacher  qualiRed  according  to  the  first  section  of  the  twenty- 
third  chapter  ol  the  Revised  Statutes,  at  least  three  months  of 
the  twelve  months  \iext  preceding  any  and  every  year  in  which 
such  child  shall  be  so  employed.  [See  also  St.  1838,  ch.  107  ; 
1842,  ch.  60,  «^  2,  and  1849,  ch.  220,  «§,  1.] 

Sect,  2.  The  owner,  agent,  or  superintendent  of  any  man- 
ufacturing establishment,  who  shall  employ  any  child  in  such 
establishment  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  forfeit 
the  sum  of  fifty  dollars  for  each  offence,  to  be  recovered  by 
indictment,  to  the  use  of  Common  Schools  in  the  towns  re- 
spectively where  said  establishments  may  be  situated.  [This 
section  repealed  by  St.  1849,  ch.  220.]     [April  16,  1836,] 


171 


CHAPTER    147. 

AN    ACT     AUTHORIZING     SCHOOL     DISTRICTS     TO     ESTABLISH     LIBRA- 
RIES   FOR    THE    USE    OF    COMMON    SCHOOLS. 


Section 

2.  How  assessed  and  collected. 


Section 

1.  Districts  authorized  to  raise  money  for 
libraries,  &c. 

Sect,  1.  Each  legally  constituted  school  district  in  this 
Commonwealth  is  hereby  authorized  to  raise  money  for  the 
purpose  of  establishing  and  maintaining  a  Common  School 
Library  and  apparatus  for  the  use  of  the  children  therein, 
under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  said  district  may  adopt : 
provided,  that  no  greater  sum  than  thirty  dollars  the  first  year, 
or  ten  dollars  in  any  subsequent  year,  shall  be  expended  for  the 
purpose  aforesaid.  [See  also  Resolves  of  March  3,  1S42  ; 
March  7,  .1843;  March  11,  1844;  March  25,  1845,  (this  re- 
lates to  school  libraries  in  Boston;)  and  St.  1849,  ch.  81,  <§.  1.] 

Sect.  2.  Any  sum  of  money  raised  by  virtue  of  this  act,  at  a 
meeting  called  for  the  purpose,  shall  be  assessed,  collected,  and 
paid  over,  as  other  school  district  taxes  are.     [April  12,  1837.] 


Act  of  1837,  ch.  227,  passed  April  19, 1S37,  concerning  the  Re- 
turns of  Common  Schools,  repealed  by  subsequent  enactments. 


CHAPTER   241. 


AN  ACT  RELATING  TO  COMMON  SCHOOLS. 


Section 

3.  Board  to  make  yearly  report   of  its 
doings,  with  suggestions,  &c. 

4.  Governor  may   draw   for  Secretary's 
salary. 


Section 

1.  Board  of  Education,  how  constituted; 
term  of  office,  &c. 

2.  Board  to  make  yearly  abstract  of 
school  returns;  maj-  appoint  a  Secre- 
tary ;  his  duty,  &c. 

Sect.  1.  His  excellency  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and 
consent  oi  the  Council,  is  hereby  authorized  to  appoint  eight  per- 
sons, who,  together  with  the  Governor  and  Lieutenant  Governor 
ex  ojjicns,  shall  constitute  and  be  denominated  the  Board  of 
Education ;  and  the  persons  so  appointed  shall  hold  their  offices 
for  the  term  of  eight  years :  provided,  the  first  person  named 
in  said  Board  shall  go  out  of  office  at  the  end  of  one  year,  the 
person  next  named  shall  go  out  of  office  at  the  end  of  two 
years,  and  so  of  the  remaining  members,  one  retiring  each 
year,  and  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  named,  till  the  whole 
Board  be  changed  ;  and  the  Governor,  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Council  as  aforesaid,  shall  fill  all  vacancies  in  said 
Board,  which  may  occur  from  death,  resignation,  or  otherwise. 

Sect.  2.     The   Board  of  Education  shall  prepare  and  lay 
before  the  Legislature,  in  a  printed  form,  on  or  before  the 


172 

second  Wednesday  of  January,  annually,  an  abstract  of  the 
school  returns  received  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  the  said  Board  of  Education  may  appoint  their  own  Secre- 
tary, who  shall  receive  a  reasonable  compensation  for  his  ser- 
vices, not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  [altered, 
St.  1838,  ch.  159,  <§»  1,  and  St.  1849,  ch,  215,  <§>  2,]  and  who 
shall,  under  the  direction  of  the  Board,  collect  information  of 
the  actual  condition  and  efficiency  of  the  Common  Schools, 
and  other  means  of  popular  education,  and  diffuse  as  widely  as 
possible,  throughout  every  part  of  the  Commonwealth,  infor- 
mation of  the  most  approved  and  successful  methods  of  arrang- 
ing the  studies,  and  conducting  the  education  of  the  young,  to 
the  end  that  all  children  in  this  Commonwealth,  who  depend 
upon  Common  Schools  for  instruction,  may  have  the  best  edu- 
cation which  those  schools  can  be  made  to  impart.  [See  St. 
1838,  ch.  159,  <^  1 ;  Resolve,  March  1,  1842  j  St.  1847,  ch. 
183,  and  1849,  chs.  65,  155,  and  215.] 

Sect.  3.  The  Board  of  Education,  annually,  shall  make  a 
detailed  report  to  the  Legislature  of  all  its  doings,  with  such  ob- 
servations as  their  experience  and  reflection  may  suggest,  upon 
the  condition  and  efficiency  of  our  system  of  popular  education, 
and  the  most  practicable  means  of  improving  and  extending  it. 

Sect.  4.  For  the  salary  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  provided  for  in  the  second  section  of  this  act,  the 
Governor  is  authorized  to  draw  his  warrants  from  time  to  time, 
as  the  same  may  be  required.     [April  20,  1837.] 


CHAPTER   85. 

APPROPRIATIONS    FOR    SCHOOLS    AMONG    CERTAIN    INDIAN    TRIBES. 

Reservation  by  State,  for  benefit  of  certain  Indians. 

Sect.  7.  Two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  of  said  moneys 
[Surplus  Revenue,]  shall  be  reserved  and  loaned  by  the  treas- 
urer and  receiver  general  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  the 
income  therefrom  paid  annually,  in  the  month  of  March,  as 
follows,  to  wit :  to  the  treasurer  of  the  district  of  Marshpee, 
the  income  of  one  thousand  dollars  ;  to  the  guardian  of  the 
Chappequiddick  and  Christiantown  Indians,  the  income  of  one 
thousand  two  hundred  dollars ;  one  half  of  said  income  for  the 
benefit  of  said  Christiantown  and  Chappequiddick  Indians,  and 
the  other  half  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians  at  Gay  Head  ; — 
and  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Herring  Pond  Indians,  the  income 
of  three  hundred  dollars, — all  of  said  income  to  be  appropri- 
ated to  the  purposes  of  Common  School  education  in  said 
places,  and  no  other  distribution  shall  be  made  to  said  Indians 
from  said  moneys.    [See  St.  1838,  ch.  154.]    [March  21,  1837.] 


173 


CHAPTER  55. 

AN  ACT  TO  DEFRAY  THE  EXPENSES  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCA- 
TION. 

Expenses  of  members  to  be  reimbursed  ;  their  accounts  to  be  audited,  &c.,  by  the  Executive. 

The  members  of  the  Board  of  Education,  appointed  by  the 
Governor  and  Council,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  an  act 
relating  to  Common  Schools,  passed  April  twentieth,  in  the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-seven,  shall  be 
reimbursed  for  all  expenses  incurred  in  the  discharge  of  their 
official  duties,  their  accounts  being  first  audited  and  allowed 
by  the  Governor  and  Council ;  and  the  incidental  expenses  of 
said  Board  shall  be  allowed  and  paid  in  the  same  manner. 
[March  31,  1838.] 


CHAPTER    105. 


AN    ACT    CONCERNING    SCHOOLS. 


Section 

1.  Committees  to  make  yearly  detailed 
reports  of  condition  of  schools :  how 
such  reports  shall  be  disposed  of. 

2.  Shall  select  and  contract  with  teach- 
ers, unless,  &c. 

3.  Shall  keep  a  record  book,  record  their 
votes,  &c.,  and  deliver  it  to  their  suc- 
cessors. 

4.  Compensation  of  committees. 


Section 

5.  Form  of  blanks  and  inquiries  to  be 
prescribed  by  Board  of  Education. 

6.  Registers  to  be  kept  by  committees : 
form  of,  to  be  prescrilscd  by  said 
Board,  and  to  be  forwarded  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  State. 

7.  Abstract  of  returns  to  be  made,  under 
direction  of  said  Board,  in  Secretary's 
office. 

8.  When  to  take  effect. 


Sect.  1,  The  school  committees  shall  annually  make  a 
detailed  report  of  the  condition  of  the  several  Public  Schools 
in  their  respective  towns,  designating  particular  improvements 
and  defects  in  the  methods  or  means  of  education,  and  stating 
such  facts  and  suggestions  in  relation  thereto,  as  in  their  opin- 
ion will  best  promote  the  interests  and  increase  the  usefulness 
of  said  schools ;  which  report  shall  be  read  in  open  town  meet- 
ing, in  February,  March,  or  April,  in  each  year,  or  be  printed 
and  distributed  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants,  and  shall  be 
deposited  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  town  ;  and  an 
attested  copy  thereof  shall  be  transmitted  by  said  school  com- 
mittee to  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth, 
with  the  official  return  now  required  by  law.  [See  St.  1846, 
ch.  223,  §  4.] 

Sect.  2.  The  school  committees  shall  select  and  contract 
with  the  teachers  for  the  town  and  district  schools ;  any  pro- 
vision in  the  twenty-third  chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes  to 
the  contrary  notwithstanding:  provided,  however,  that  the 
teachers  may  be  selected  and  contracted  with  by  the  prudential 
committees  as  heretofore,  whenever  the  town  shall  so  determine. 


174 

Sect.  3.  The  school  committee  in  each  town  shall  be  pro- 
vided with  a  record  book,  in  which  all  votes,  orders,  and  pro- 
ceedings of  the  committee  shall  be  duly  recorded,  and  said 
record  shall  be  delivered  over  by  the  committees,  at  the  expi- 
ration of  the  year,  to  their  successors  in  office. 

Sect.  4.  The  members  of  the  school  committees,  except 
in  the  city  of  Boston,  shall  be  paid,  by  their  respective  towns, 
one  dollar  each  per  day  for  the  time  they  shall  be  actually  em- 
ployed in  discharging  the  duties  of  their  office,  together  with 
such  additional  compensation  as  the  town  may  allow.  [But 
this  compensation  may  be  forfeited  by  certain  neglects  of  duty, 
St.  1847,  ch.  183,  <^  2,  and  St.  1848,  ch.  173,  <^  1.] 

Sect.  5.  The  form  of  the  blanks,  and  the  inquiries  pro- 
vided for  by  the  statute  of  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven,  chapter  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven, 
and  the  time  when  the  same  shall  be  returned  into  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  shall  hereafter  be  pre- 
scribed by  the  Board  of  Education.  [Altered,  St.  1841,  ch. 
17,  and  1846,  ch.  223.]  And  the  school  committees  shall  fill 
the  blanks  and  answer  the  inquiries  contained  in  such  form,  in 
the  same  manner  and  under  the  same  provisions  as  they  are 
now  required  by  law  to  do. 

Sect.  6.  The  Board  of  Education  shall  prescribe  a  blank 
form  of  a  register,  to  be  kept  in  all  the  town  and  district 
schools  in  the  Commonwealth ;  and  the  Secretary  of  State  [of 
the  Board  of  Education,  St.  1849,  ch.  209,  '^  1,]  shall  forward 
a  sufficient  number  of  copies  of  the  same  to  the  school  com- 
mittees of  the  respective  towns ;  and  said  committees  shall 
cause  registers  to  be  faithfully  kept  in  all  said  schools,  accord- 
ing to  the  form  prescribed. 

Sect.  7.  The  abstract  of  the  school  returns  shall  be  made 
up  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of  Education,  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  [of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Board,  St.  1847,  ch.  183,  >§,  1.] 

Sect.  8.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its  pas- 
sage.    [April  13,  1838.] 


CHAPTER    107. 

AN  ACT  IN  ADDITION  TO  AN  ACT  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  THE  BETTER 
INSTRUCTION  OF  YOUTH  EMPLOYED  IN  MANUFACTURING  ESTAB- 
LISHMENTS. 

Penalty  of  former  act  avoided  by  showing  that  children  attended  school  three  months  of  the 
preceding  year,  and  received  the  prescribed  instruction. 

No  person  shall  be  liable  to  the  penalty  provided  in  the  act 
passed  the  sixteenth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  one  thousand 


175 

eight  hundred  and  thirty-six,  entitled  "  an  act  to  provide  for 
the  better  instruction  of  youth  employed  in  manufacturing 
establishments,"  who  shall,  in  each  year,  before  employing  any 
child  under  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  as  in  said  act  mentioned, 
obtain  and  preserve  a  certificate,  signed  by  the  instructor  of  the 
school  where  such  child  attended  at  least  three  months  of  the 
twelve  months  next  preceding,  as  in  said  act  is  provided,  that 
such  child  has  received  the  instruction  in  said  act  intended  to 
be  secured ;  the  truth  of  which  certificate  shall  be  sworn  to 
by  the  said  instructor,  before  some  justice  of  the  peace  for  the 
county  Avhere  such  instructor  resides  ;  and  upon  said  certifi- 
cate shall  also  be  certified  the  fact  of  such  oath  or  affirmation 
by  said  justice.  [See  St.  1836,  ch.  245  ;  1842,  ch.  60,  and 
1849,  ch.  220.]     [April  13,  1838.] 


CHAPTER    154. 

AN    ACT    TO    AID     IN     THE    SUPPORT     OF     COMMON     SCHOOLS     AMONG 
CERTAIN    TRIBES    OF    INDIANS    IN    THIS    COMMONWEALTH. 

Allowance  for  schools  among  certain  Indians.    Account  of  appropriation  to  be  rendered 
yearly  to  the  Executive. 

There  shall  be  allowed  and  paid,  out  of  the  income  of  the 
Massachusetts  School  Fund,  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
dollars,  on  the  first  day  of  January,  annually,  in  the  manner 
hereafter  provided,  viz.,  sixty  dollars  to  Smith  May  hew,  Esq., 
of  Chilmark,  to  be  applied,  under  his  direction,  to  the  support 
of  Common  Schools  among  the  Gay  Head  Indians ;  sixty  dol- 
lars to  the  guardian  of  the  Indians  of  Christiantown  and  Cliap- 
pequiddick,  and  twenty  dollars  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Herring 
Pond  Indians,  to  be  applied  by  them  in  like  manner  to  the 
support  of  Common  Schools  among  the  said  Indians ;  any 
thing  contained  in  the  sixty-seventh  section  of  the  twenty- 
third  chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes  to  the  contrary  notwith- 
standing ;  and  an  annual  account  of  the  appropriation  of  said 
moneys  shall  be  rendered  to  the  Governor  and  Council.  [See 
St.  1837,  ch.  85.]     [April  IS,  1838.] 


CHAPTER   70. 

RESOLVES      RELATIVE      TO      QUALIFYING     TEACHERS      FOR      COMMON 

SCHOOLS. 

Governor  authorized  to  draw  warrant  for  ^10,000.    Board  of  Education  to  report  annually 
how  said  money  has  been  expended. 

Whereas,  by  a  letter  from  the  Honorable    Horace    Mann, 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  addressed  on  the  twelfth 


176 

of  March  ciiiTent  to  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  it  appears,  that  pri- 
vate munificence  has  placed  at  his  disposal  the  sum  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  to  promote  the  cause  of  popular  education  in 
Massachusetts,  on  condition  that  the  Commonwealth  will  con- 
tribute, from  unappropriated  funds,  the  same  amount  in  aid  of 
the  same  cause  ;  the  two  sums  to  be  drawn  upon  equally,  from 
time  to  time,  as  needed,  and  to  be  disbursed  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Board  of  Education  in  qualifying  teachers  for  the 
Common  Schools ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  his  excellency  the  Governor  is  hereby  author- 
ized, by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Council,  to 
draw  his  warrant  upon  the  treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth,  in 
favor  of  the  Board  of  Education,  for  the  sum  of  ten  thousand 
dollars,  in  such  instalments  and  at  such  times  as  said  Board 
may  request  :  provided,  that  said  Board,  in  their  request,  shall 
certify,  that  the  Secretary  of  said  Board  has  placed  at  their 
disposal  an  amount  equal  to  that  for  which  such  application 
may  be  made  by  them  ;  both  sums  to  be  expended,  under  the 
direction  of  said  Board,  in  qualifying  teachers  for  the  Common 
Schools  in  Massachusetts. 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Education  shall  render  an  an- 
nual account  of  the  manner  in  which  said  moneys  have  been 
by  them  expended.     [April  19,  1838.] 


CHAPTER    159. 

AN    ACT    TO    PRESCRIBE    THE    DUTIES    AND    FIX  THE    COMPENSATION 
OF    THE     SECRETARY    OF    THE    BOARD    OF    EDUCATION. 


Section 

1.  Secretary  to  attend  meetings  of  teach- 
ers and  committees  ;  to  give  notice  of 
such  meetings  ;    to  collect  information 


Section 

to  he  embodied  in  report  of  the  Board. 

2.  Secretary's  salary  to  be  ^JoOO. 

3.  Act  to  take  immediate  etiect. 


Sect.  1.  The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  duties  required  of  him  by  the  act  establishing  the 
Board  of  Education,  shall,  once  in  each  year,  at  such  times  as 
the  Board  of  Education  may  appoint,  attend  in  each  county  of 
the  Commonwealth  a  meeting  of  all  such  teachers  of  Public 
Schools,  members  of  the  school  committees  of  the  several 
towns,  and  friends  of  education  generally  in  the  county,  as 
may  voluntarily  assemble  at  the  time  and  place  in  the  county 
designated  by  the  Board  of  Education,  of  which  sufficient 
notice  shall  by  him  be  given,  [altered,  St.  1842,  ch.  42  ;]  and 
shall  then  and  there  diligently  apply  himself  to  the  object  of 
collecting  information  of  the  condition  of  the  Public  Schools  of 
such  county,  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  their  office  by 


177 

all  members  of  the  school  committees  of  all  the  towns,  and 
the  circumstances  of  the  several  school  districts  in  regard  to  all 
the  subjects  of  teachers,  pupils,  books,  apparatus,  and  methods 
of  education ;  with  the  intent  of  furnishing  all  requisite  mate- 
rials for  the  report  by  law  required  from  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation. 

Sect.  2.  The  compensation  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Education  shall  be  one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  per 
annum,  to  be  made  in  equal  quarterly  payments. 

Sect.  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its  pas- 
sage.    [April  21,  1838.] 


CHAPTER    189. 

AN    ACT    CONCERNIxVG    THE    UNION    OF     SCHOOL    DISTRICTS. 

Section  i  Section 

1.  Purpose  and  manner  of  forming  union  choice  of  committee. 

districts.  6.  Who  shall  be  prudential  committee  ol 

2.  Corporate  powers  of  such  districts.  such  districts.    Their  powers. 

3.  Manner  of  calling  and  warning  meet-  7.  Such    committee   to   determine    ages, 
ings.  &c.,  of  pupils,  and  the   proportion   oi 


4.  Clerk  to  be  chosen  and  sworn  ;  his  du- 
ties and  tenure  of  office. 

5.  Power  of  districts  as  to  raising  mone}' 
to  build,  &c.,  schoolhouses,  <fcc.  Pro- 
vision  as  to  location   of  houses,  and 


money  to  be  expended,  subject  to  vote 
of  district. 
8.  Town  committee's  power,  &c.,  to  ex- 
tend to  union  districts. 


Sect.  1.  Any  two  or  more  contiguous  school  districts,  in 
this  Commonwealth,  may  associate  together  and  form  a  union 
district,  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  a  union  school,  to  be 
kept  for  the  benefit  of  the  older  children  of  such  associated 
districts,  if  the  inhabitants  of  each  of  such  districts  shall,  at 
legal  meetings  called  for  that  purpose,  agree  to  form  such  union 
by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of  the  legal  voters  thereof.  [By  two 
thirds  of  the  legal  voters  of  each  district,  present  and  voting 
thereon.     St.  1839,  ch.  56,  ^  2.] 

Sect.  2.  Every  union  district  thus  formed  shall  be  a  body 
corporate,  with  the  corporate  powers  of  other  school  districts, 
in  relation  to  prosecuting  and  defending  suits  at  law,  and  hold- 
ing real  and  personal  property,  and  shall  be  called  by  such 
name  as  said  district  at  its  first  meeting  shall  determine. 

Sect.  3.  The  first  meeting  of  such  union  district  shall  be 
called  in  such  manner,  and  at  such  time  and  place,  as  may  be 
agreed  upon  by  the  associated  districts  respectively,  by  a  vote 
of  the  same,  at  the  time  of  forming  the  union  ;  and  the  union 
district  may,  from  time  to  time  thereafter,  prescribe  the  mode 
of  calling  and  warning  the  meetings  thereof,  in  like  manner  as 
other  school  districts  may  do,  and  may  also  determine  at  what 
time  its  annual  meetings  shall  be  held. 

Sect.  4.  Such  union  district,  at  the  first  meeting  thereof, 
23 


178 

shall  choose,  by  ballot,  a  clerk,  who  shall  be  sworn  in  the  same 
manner  and  shall  perform  the  same  duties  as  are  prescribed  in 
relation  to  the  clerks  of  other  school  districts,  and  shall  hold 
his  office  until  another  shall  be  chosen  in  his  stead. 

Sect.  5.  Such  union  district  may,  at  any  legal  meeting 
called  for  that  purpose,  raise  money  for  erecting,  purchasing, 
renting,  and  repairing  any  building  to  be  used  as  a  schoolhouse 
for  the  union  school  aforesaid,  and  purchasing  or  renting  land 
for  the  use  and  accommodation  thereof;  also,  for  purchasing 
fuel,  furniture,  and  other  necessary  articles  for  the  use  of  said 
school ;  and  in  assessing  and  collecting  a  tax  or  taxes  for  the 
above  purposes,  the  like  proceedings  shall  be  had  as  are  pre- 
scribed by  law  for  other  school  districts :  said  district  may  also 
determine  where  said  schoolhouse  shall  stand,  and  in  case  the 
location  thereof  should  not  be  so  determined  by  said  district, 
the  same  shall  be  referred  to  the  selectmen  of  the  town,  in  the 
same  manner  as  is  provided  in  the  case  of  other  districts  ;  said 
district  may  choose  any  committee  to  carry  into  effect  the  pro- 
visions aforesaid. 

Sect.  6.  The  prudential  committees  of  the  respective  dis- 
tricts forming  the  union  district,  shall,  together,  constitute  the 
prudential  committee  of  said  district,  who  shall  have  all  the 
powers,  and  discharge  all  the  duties,  in  relation  to  said  school 
and  the  schoolhouse  of  said  district,  as  are  prescribed  to  other 
prudential  committees  in  relation  to  the  schools  and  school- 
houses  in  their  respective  districts. 

Sect.  7.  The  prudential  committee  of  the  union  district 
shall  also  determine  the  ages  and  qualifications  of  the  children 
of  the  associated  districts  who  may  attend  the  union  school, 
and  shall  also  determine  what  proportion  of  the  money,  raised 
and  appropriated  by  the  town  for  each  of  the  districts  compos- 
ing the  union  district,  shall  be  appropriated  and  expended  in 
paying  the  instructor  or  instructors  of  the  union  school ;  sub- 
ject, however,  in  both  the  above  cases,  and  in  all  other  matters 
relating  to  said  school,  to  any  votes  of  said  union  district  that 
may  be  passed  at  any  legal  meeting  thereof :  pi-ovidcd,  however, 
that  the  schools  in  each  of  the  associated  districts  shall  con- 
tinue to  be  maintained  in  the  same  manner  as  if  this  act  had 
not  been  passed. 

Sect.  8.  The  school  committee  of  the  toAvn  in  which  such 
union  district  may  be  located,  shall  have  the  same  powers,  and 
perform  the  same  duties,  in  relation  to  such  union  school,  as 
are  prescribed  to  them  in  relation  to  other  district  schools. 
[April  25,  1838.] 


179 


CHAPTER  56. 


AN  ACT  CONCERNING  SCHOOLS. 


Section 

1.  School  to  be  kept  six  months  in  every 
town  ;  provision  for  female  assistants. 

2.  Provision  for  union  districts. 

3.  Appropriation    of   income    of   scliool 
~  nd;     '      ' 


Section 

l>er  of  pupils,  sums  raised  by  towus, 
Arc. 
4.  Payment  of  income  of  school  fund  for 
J838  and  1839. 
fund;  school  committees  to  certify  num-  5.  Repeal  of  former  law. 

Sect.  1.  In  every  town  in  this  Commonwealth  there  shall 
be  kept  in  each  year,  at  the  charge  of  the  town,  by  a  teacher 
or  teachers  of  competent  ability  and  good  morals,  one  school 
for  the  instrnction  of  children  in  orthography,  reading,  writ- 
ing, English  grammar,  geography,  arithmetic,  and  good  be- 
havior, for  the  term  of  six  months,  or  two  or  more  such 
schools  for  terms  of  time  which  shall  together  be  eqnivalent  to 
six  months  ;  and  in  every  school  in  this  Commonwealth  con- 
taining fifty  scholars  as  the  average  number,  the  school  district 
or  town  to  which  such  school  belongs  shall  be  required  to  em- 
ploy a  female  assistant  or  assistants,  unless  such  school  district 
or  town  shall,  at  a  meeting  regularly  called  for  that  purpose, 
vote  to  dispense  with  the  same. 

Sect.  2.  Any  two  or  more  contiguous  school  districts  may 
associate  together  and  form  a  union  district,  for  the  purpose  of 
maintaining  a  union  school,  to  be  kept  for  the  benefit  of  the 
older  children  of  such  associated  districts,  if  the  inhabitants  of 
each  of  said  districts  shall,  at  legal  meetings  called  for  that 
purpose,  agree  to  form  such  union  by  a  vote  of  two  thirds  of 
the  legal  voters  of  each  district  present  and  voting  therein. 

Sect.  3.  [This  section  superseded  by  subsequent  enact- 
ments. See  St.  1846,  ch.  223,  and  1849,  ch.  65.]  The  in- 
come of  the  Massachusetts  School  Fund,  except  the  sum  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  dollars  appropriated  to  the  support  of 
Common  Schools  among  the  Indians,  shall  be  apportioned  by 
the  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  paid  over  by  the  treasurer,  on 
the  fifteenth  of  January  in  each  year,  to  the  mayors  and  alder- 
men of  the  several  cities,  and  to  the  selectmen  of  the  several 
towns,  for  the  use  of  the  Common  Schools  therein,  according 
to  the  number  of  persons  in  such  cities  and  towns  between 
the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen  years ;  and  said  persons  shall  be 
enumerated  and  ascertained  in  the  following  manner,  to  wit : 
the  school  committee  of  each  town  shall,  annually  in  the 
month  of  May,  ascertain,  from  actual  examination  or  otherwise, 
the  number  of  persons  between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen 
years,  belonging  to  such  town  on  the  first  day  of  said  May, 
and  shall  make  a  certificate  thereof,  and  also  of  the  sum  raised 
by  the  town  for  the  support  of  schools,  including  only  fuel, 


180 

wages,  and  board  of  teachers,  during  the  current  year,  and 
shall  transmit  the  same  to  the  Secretary  of  the  CommonAvealth, 
at  such  time  as  may  be  prescribed  by  the  Board  of  Education, 
which  certificate  shall  be  in  the  following  form,  to  wit  : — 

We,  the  school  committee  of  ,  do  certify,  from  the 

best  information  we  have  been  able  to  obtain,  that  on  the  first 
day  of  May,  in  the  year  ,  there  were  belonging  to  said 

town  the  number  of  persons,  between  the  ages  of  four 

and  sixteen  years ;  and  we  further  certify,  that  said  town  has 
raised  the  sum  of  dollars,  for  the  support  of  Common 

Schools  for  the  current  year,  including  only  the  wages  and 
board  of  teachers,  and  fuel  for  the  schools. 

i  iSchool  Committee. 

,  ss. 

On  this  day   of  ,   personally  appeared  the 

abovenamed  ,  school  committee   of  the   town  of 

,  and  made  oath  that  the  above  certificate,  by  them 
subscribed,  is  true.     Before  me, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Provided,  That  no  such  apportionment  shall  be  made  to  any 
town  which  shall  have  failed,  for  the  year  next  preceding  the 
time  of  such  apportionment,  to  make  the  school  returns  and 
reports  required  by  law,  or  which  shall  have  failed  to  raise  by 
taxation,  for  the  support  of  schools,  including  only  fuel,  wages, 
and  board  of  teachers,  during  the  current  year,  a  sum  equal  at 
least  to  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  for  each  person,  be- 
tween the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen  years,  belonging  to  said 
town  on  the  first  day  of  the  preceding  May,  or  shall  have 
failed  to  make  return  of  the  certificate  as  herein  above  pro- 
vided. 

Sect.  4.  [Expired.]  The  income  of  the  Massachusetts 
School  Fund  from  the  first  day  of  December,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-seven,  to  the  fifteenth  of  January, 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-nine,  shall  be  appor- 
tioned and  paid  over,  on  the  first  day  of  June  next,  to  the  sev- 
eral cities  and  towns  which  shall  have  made  the  returns  re- 
quired by  this  act,  and  shall  have  raised  the  sums  of  money 
required  by  the   twenty-third  chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes. 

Sect.  5.  The  first  section  of  the  statutes  of  the  year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  chapter  one  hundred 
and  eighty-nine,  so  far  as  the  same  is  inconsistent  with  this 
act,  is  hereby  repealed.     [March  18,  1839.] 


181 


CHAPTER    137. 

AN    ACT    CONCERNING    DISTRICT    SCHOOLS. 

Provision  for  electing  three  persons  as  a  prudential  committee. 

Whenever  a  town  shall  determine  that  teachers  shall  be 
selected  and  contracted  with  by  the  prudential  committees  of 
the  several  districts,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  one 
hundred  and  fifth  chapter  of  the  laws  of  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  such  a  town  or  district  may 
elect  three  persons  as  a  prudential  committee,  who  shall  per- 
form all  the  duties  provided  for  in  the  twenty-fifth  section  of 
the  twenty-third  chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes.  [April  9, 
1839.] 


CHAPTER    139. 

AN    ACT    CONCERNING    THE    ASSESSMENT    OF    TAXES. 

Section  I  Section 

1.  Where  stock  in  trade,  &c.,  shall   be  2.  Where  ships  and  stage  horses  shall  be 

taxed.  taxed. 

I        3.  When  to  take  effect. 

Sect.  1.  All  stocks  in  trade,  including  stock  employed  in 
the  business  of  manufacturing,  or  of  any  of  the  mechanic  arts, 
in  towns  within  the  State,  other  than  where  the  owners  reside, 
shall  be  taxed  in  those  towns,  if  the  owners  hire  or  occupy 
manufactories,  stores,  shops,  or  wharves  therein,  whether  the 
said  stocks  in  trade,  or  the  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise,  or 
other  property,  composing  or  forming  a  part  of  the  same,  are 
within  said  towns  on  the  first  day  of  May,  of  the  year  when 
the  tax  is  made,  or  elsewhere. 

Sect.  2.  All  ships  or  vessels,  at  home  or  abroad,  and  all 
horses  employed  in  stages  or  other  vehicles  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  persons,  shall  be  taxed  to  the  owners  in  the  towns 
where  they  reside. 

Sect.  3.  This  act  shall  take  eff'ect  from  and  after  its  pas- 
sage.     [April  9,  1839.] 


St.  1840,  chap.  7,  expired. 


St.  1840,  chap.  76,  repealed  by  St.  1848,  chap.  283. 


St.  1841,  chap.  17,  superseded  by  St.  1846,  ch.  223,  except- 
ing the  following  section  : — 

Sect.  4.     So  much  of  the  statute  of  the  year  one  thousand 


182 

eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  chapter  one  hundred  and  five, 
as  gives  the  Board  of  Education  authority  to  prescribe  at  what 
time  the  reports  and  returns  of  school  committees  shall  be 
made,  and  also  so  much  of  the  statute  of  the  year  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  thirty-nine,  chapter  fifty-six,  as  is  in- 
consistent with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  is  hereby  repealed. 
[February  8,  1841.] 


CHAPTER  42. 

AN     ACT      CONCERNING    THE    DUTIES     OF     THE    SECRETARY     OF     THE 
BOARD    OF    EDUCATION. 

Secretar}'  required  to  attend  meetings  of  school  teachers  only  when  directed  by  the  Board. 

So  much  of  the  one  hundred  and  fifty-ninth  chapter  of  the 
laws  of  this  Commonwealth,  passed  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  as  requires  that  meetings  of 
teachers  of  Public  Schools  and  others  shall  be  attended  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education  once  in  each  year,  in  each 
county  of  the  Commonwealth,  is  hereby  repealed ;  and  it  shall 
henceforward  be  the  duty  of  said  Secretary  to  attend  said  meet- 
ings at  such  times  and  places  as  the  Board  of  Education  shall 
from  time  to  time  appoint.      [March  1,  1842.] 


CHAPTER   27. 

RESOLVE    CONCERNING    THE    BOARD    OF    EDUCATION. 

Expenses  incurred  by  the  Board  to  be  reported. 

Resohed,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education 
hereafter  make  an  annual  report  of  the  several  expenses  in- 
curred by  said  Board  for  any  and  whatever  object.      [March  1, 

1842.] 


CHAPTER    60. 

AN    ACT    CONCERNING     THE      EMPLOYMENT     OF    CHILDREN    IN    MANU- 
FACTURING   ESTABLISHMENTS. 


Section 

1.  School      committees      to      prosecute 
breaches  of  St.  1836,  ch.  245. 

2.  Penalty  in  St.  183G,  ch.  245,  §  2,  to  be 
given  to  person  prosecuting. 


Section 

3.  Children  under  12  years  not  to  be  em- 
ployed more  than  10  hours  in  a  day. 

4.  Penalty  for  violating  ^  3. 


Sect.  1.  It  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  the  school  com- 
mittee, in  the  several  towns  and  cities  of  this  Commonwealth, 
to  prosecute  all  breaches  of  an  act  entitled  "  An  act  to  provide 
for  the  better  instruction  of  youth  employed  in  manufacturing 


183 

establishments,"  passed  on  the  sixteenth  day  of  April,  in  the 
year  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-six. 

Sect.  2.  The  penalty  imposed  in  the  second  section  of  said 
act  shall  be  given  to  the  person  prosecuting  for  the  oifence 
described  in  said  act,  any  thing  in  said  act  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding.  [This  section  repealed  by  St.  1849,  ch. 
220,  ^2.] 

Sect.  3.  From  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  no  child 
under  the  age  of  twelve  years  shall  be  employed  in  laboring  in 
any  manufacturing  establishment  more  than  ten  hours  in  any 
one  day. 

Sect.  4.  The  owner,  agent  or  superintendent  of  any  man- 
ufacturing establishment,  who  shall  knowingly  employ  any 
such  child  under  the  age  of  twelve  years  in  such  establish- 
ment, contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  third  section  of  this 
act,  shall  forfeit  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars  for  each  offence,  to  be 
recovered  in  any  court  of  this  Commonwealth  competent  to 
try  the  same,  to  the  use  of  the  person  prosecuting.  [See  also 
St.  1838,  ch.  107,  and  1849,  ch.  220.]     [March  3,  1842.] 


CHAPTER    74. 

resolves  concerning  normal    schools    and    school  district 

libraries. 

^6,000  per  annum  for  three  years  for  Normal  Schools.      Appropriation  for  School  Libraries. 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  sum  of  six  thousand  dollars,  annually, 
for  three  years,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated  to  the 
support  of  Normal  Schools,  under  the  direction  of  the  Board 
of  Education.  And  his  excellency  the  Governor  is  hereby 
authorized,  from  time  to  time,  to  draw  his  warrant  on  the  treas- 
ury for  the  same,  on  the  application  of  said  Board.  [See  also 
St.  1847,  ch.  82,  and  Res.  1849,  ch.  89.] 

2.  Resolved.  That  the  sum  of  fifteen  dollars,  to  be  taken 
from  the  school  fund,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  appropriated 
to  every  school  district  in  the  Commonwealth,  to  be  expended 
in  books  for  a  school  district  library ;  and  that  the  treasurer 
pay  said  sum,  for  said  purpose,  to  the  order  of  the  mayor  of 
every  city  and  the  selectmen  of  every  town,  for  each  and  every 
school  district  within  the  same  which  shall  have  produced  evi- 
dence of  having  raised  and  appropriated  fifteen  dollars  or  more 
for  the  same  object.  [See  also  Res.  1843,  ch.  6 ;  1844,  ch. 
63;  and  1845,  ch.  113.]     [March  3,  1842.] 


184 


CHAPTER   6. 

RESOLVES    IN    ADDITION    TO    A    RESOLVE     CONCERNING    SCHOOL    DIS- 
TRICT   LIBRARIES. 

Resolve  of  March  3J,  IS^S,  extended.     Treasurer  of  Commonwealth  to  make  sale  of  vari- 
ous securities  belonging  to  school  fund. 

Resolved,  That  the  provisions  of  the  Resolve  of  March 
third,  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-two,  concerning  school  dis- 
trict libraries,  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  extended  to  every 
city  and  town  in  the  Cortimonwealth,  not  heretofore  divided 
into  school  districts,  in  such  manner  as  to  give  as  many  times 
fifteen  dollars  to  every  such  city  or  town  as  the  number  sixty 
is  contained,  exclusive  of  fractions,  in  the  number  of  children 
between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen  3'ears  in  said  city  or 
town :  provided,  evidence  be  produced  to  the  treasurer,  in 
behalf  of  said  city  or  town,  of  its  having  raised  and  appro- 
priated, for  the  establishment  of  libraries,  a  sum  equal  to  that 
which,  by  the  provision  of  this  Resolve,  it  is  entitled  to  receive 
from  the  school  fund. 

Resolved,  That  the  treasurer  be  instructed,  under  the  advice 
and  direction  of  the  Governor  and  Council,  to  make  sales, 
from  time  to  time,  of  notes  of  hand,  bank  stock,  and  other 
securities  belonging  to  the  school  fund,  to  such  amount  as 
shall  enable  him  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the  above 
Resolve,  and  with  those  of  the  Resolve  of  March  third, 
eighteen  hundred  and  forty-two,  concerning  school  district 
libraries.  [See  also  Res.  1844,  ch.  63,  and  1845,  ch.  113.] 
[March  7,  1843.] 


CHAPTER   85. 

AN    ACT    CONCERNING     THE     PROPERTY     OF     COMMON     SCHOOL     DIS- 
TRICTS. 

Property  of  school  districts  exempted  from  taxation. 

All  property  belonging  to  Common  School  districts,  the  in- 
come of  which  is  appropriated  to  the  purposes  of  education,  is 
hereby  exempted  from  taxation.     [March  24,  1843.] 


St.  1844,  ch.  6,  appropriates  seventy-five  thousand  dollars, 
one  half  of  the  money  received  by  Massachusetts,  under  the 
provisions  of  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain  for  the  settlement 
of  the  North  Eastern  boundary,  to  the  School  Fund. 


185 


CHAPTER   32. 

AN    ACT    CONCERNING    THE    POWERS    OF    SCHOOL    COSiMITTEES. 
School  committees  empowered  to  dismiss  teachers. 

The  school  committee  of  any  town  is  hereby  authorized  to 
dismiss  from  employment  any  teacher  in  such  town,  whenever 
the  said  committee  may  think  proper,  and  from  the  time  of 
such  dismissal  such  teacher  shall  receive  no  further  compensa- 
tion for  services  rendered  in  that  capacity.   [February  23,  1844.] 


CHAPTER    57. 

RESOLVES  CONCERNING  THE  ANNUAL  REPORTS  OF  THE  OFFICERS 
OF  THE  STATE  LUNATIC  HOSPITAL  AND  THE  BOARD  OF  EDU- 
CATION. 

Clerk  of  tlie  Senate  to  print,  &c.,  reports,  &c.,  as  documents  of  the  Senate  and  House. 
Disposition  of  reports  of  the  Board  of  Education.  Fifteen  hundred  copies  of  the  report 
of  the  Lunatic  Hospital  to  be  furnished  to  the  superintendent. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  of  the  Senate  for  the  time  being 
be  authorized  and  directed  to  cause  to  be  printed  annually,  be- 
fore the  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as 
may  be,  the  usual  number  of  the  annual  reports  of  the  officers 
of  the  State  Lunatic  Hospital  and  of  the  Board  of  Education, 
and  that  he  cause  the  former  to  be  numbered  one  of  the  Senate, 
and  the  latter  one  of  the  House.      [See  Resolve  1849,  ch.  52.] 

Resolved,  That  the  usual  number  of  the  printed  reports  of 
the  Board  of  Education,  distributed  in  the  Legislature,  be  re- 
served for  that  purpose,  and  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Com- 
monwealth, after  sending  one  copy  to  each  school  district  and 
each  board  of  school  committee  men  in  the  State,  place  the 
residue  at  the  disposal  of  the  Secretary  of  said  Board. 

Resolved,  That  fifteen  hundred  printed  copies  of  each  annual 
report  of  the  officers  of  the  State  Lunatic  Hospital  be  fur- 
nished to  the  superintendent  for  the  time  being  of  said  institu- 
tion.    [March  7,  1844.] 


CHAPTER   63. 

RESOLVE    CONCERNING    SCHOOL    DISTRICT    LIBRARIES, 

Resolves  of  March  3d,  18i2,  and  March  7th,  1843,  extended  to  all  school  districts. 

Resolved,  That  the  provisions  of  the  Resolve  of  March  the 
third,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight   hundred  and  forty-two, 
and  the  Resolve  of  March  the  seventh,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
24 


186 

eight  hundred  and  forty-three,  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  ex- 
tended to  every  school  district  of  every  town  in  the  Common- 
wealth.    [March  11,  1844] 


St.  184.5,  chap.  100,  repealed  by  St.  1849,  chap.  65. 


St.  184.5,  chap.  157,  repealed  by  St.  1849,  chap.  209. 


CHAPTER   214. 

AN    ACT    CONCERNING    PUBLIC     SCHOOLS. 

Remedy  for  the  unlawful  exclusion  of  a  child  from  public  school  instruclion. 

Any  child,  unlawfully  excluded  from  public  school  instruc- 
tion in  this  Commonwealth,  shall  recover  damages  therefor,  in 
an  action  on  the  case,  to  be  brought  in  the  name  of  said  child, 
by  his  guardian  or  next  friend,  in  any  court  of  competent 
jurisdiction  to  try  the  same,  against  the  city  or  town  by  which 
such  public  school  instruction  is  supported.      [March  25,  1845.] 


CHAPTER   100. 

RESOLVES    RESPECTING    STATE    NORMAL    SCHOOLS. 

Allowance  of  ;g5000  to  Board  of  Education  to  provide  buildings  for  Normal  Schools,  &c. 
To  be  taken  from  the  capital  of  the  school  fund.  Normal  Schools  to  take  the  name  of 
.State  Normal  Schools. 

Whereas,  Charles  Sumner,  R.  C.  Waterston,  G.  F.  Thayer, 
Charles  Brooks,  and  William  Brigham,  a  committee  of  friends 
of  education,  have  presented  their  memorial  to  the  Legislature, 
praying  that  the  sum  of  fiv^e  thousand  dollars  may  be  placed  in 
the  hands  of  the  Board  of  Education,  on  condition  that  the 
said  memorialists  will  place  an  equal  sum  in  the  hands  of  the 
said  Board,  to  be  appropriated  for  defraying  the  expenses  of 
providing  suitable  buildings  for  the  Normal  Schools,  and  for 
purchasing  apparatus  and  libraries  for  the  same  ;  therefore. 

Resolved,  That  his  excellency  the  Governor,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Council,  be  and  he  hereby  is 
authorized  and  requested  to  draw  his  warrant  upon  the  treas- 
urer of  the  Commonwealth,  in  favor  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, for  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars,  at  such  time  as  the 
Board  shall  request :  provided,  that  the  said  Board  in  their 
request  shall  certify,  that  the  above  named  memorialists  have 
placed  at  their  disposal  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  ;  and 


187 

the  said  sums  shall  then  be  appropriated  by  the  said  Board,  for 
defraying  the  expenses  of  providing  suitable  buildings  for  the 
State  Normal  Schools,  and  for  purchasing  apparatus  and  libra- 
ries therefor. 

Resolved,  That  the  treasurer  shall  take  the  said  sum  of  five 
thousand  dollars  from  the  capital  of  the  school  fund. 

Resolved,  That  the  schools  heretofore  known  as  Normal 
Schools,  shall  be  hereafter  designated  as  State  Normal  Schools. 
[March  20,  1845.] 


CHAPTER    101. 

RESOLVE    CONCERNING     THE     TRANSMISSION    OF    STATE    DOCUMENTS. 

Secretary,  under  direction,  &.c.,  to  forward  docunicnls,  &c.,  to  authorities  of  other  states  and 

countries. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  be  and 
he  is  hereby  instructed,  under  the  direction  of  his  excellency 
the  Governor,  to  obtain  and  forward  books  and  other  docu- 
ments containing  information  respecting  the  literary,  charitable 
and  other  institutions  of  this  Commonwealth,  as  applications 
for  the  same  are  received  from  time  to  time  from  the  authori- 
ties of  other  States,  or  of  foreign  countries.      [March  20,  1845.] 


CHAPTER    113. 

RESOLVES      IN     ADDITION    TO    THE    RESOLVES     CONCERNING    SCHOOL 
DISTRICT    LIBRARIES. 

Allowance  for  District  School  Libraries  extended  to  the  city  of  Boston,  for  Latin,  English 
High,  Grammar  and  Writing  Schools,  according  to  number  of  children,  &c.,  between  7 
and  16  years  old,  to  be  estimated  by  the  mayor,  who  is  to  certify,  &c.  Allowance,  &c., 
extended  to  city  of  Boston,  for  primary  and  intermediate  schools,  according  to  number  of 
children,  &.C.,  between  4  and  7  years  old,  &c.  Apportionment  of  books  to  be  made  by 
school  committee.     When  to  take  effect. 

Resolved,  That  the  provisions  of  the  Resolve  of  March 
third,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-two,  be  extended 
to  the  Latin  School,  English  High  School,  and  Grammar  and 
Writing  Schools  of  the  city  of  Boston,  in  such  manner  as  to 
give  as  many  times  fifteen  dollars  towards  a  purchase  of  a 
library,  or  libraries,  for  said  schools,  as  the  number  sixty  is 
contained,  exclusive  of  fractions,  in  the  number  of  children 
belonging  .to  said  schools  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  six- 
teen years,  said  number  to  be  estimated  by  the  mayor  of  said 
city  :  provided,  the  said  mayor  shall  certify,  to  the  treasurer  of 
the  Commonwealth,  that  an  equal  sum  of  money  has  been 
raised  and  appropriated,  subsequent  to  the  first  day  of  January, 
in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-five,  for  the 
same  purpose. 


188 

Resolved,  That  the  provisions  of  the  preceding  Resolve,  and 
of  the  Resolves  to  which  it  is  in  addition,  be  extended  to  the 
primary  and  intermediate  schools  of  the  city  of  Boston,  in 
such  manner  as  to  give  as  many  times  fifteen  dollars  for  the 
purchase  of  a  library,  or  libraries,  for  said  schools,  as  the  num- 
ber sixty  is  contained,  exclusive  of  fractions,  in  the  number  of 
children  belonging  to  said  schools  between  the  ages  of  four 
and  seven  years,  said  number  to  be  estimated  as  in  the  preced- 
ing Resolve  is  provided,  when  it  shall  be  made  to  appear  to  the 
treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth,  by  a  certificate  of  the  mayor 
of  said  city,  that  an  equal  sum  has  been  raised  and  appro- 
priated, subsequent  to  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-five,  for  the  same  purpose. 

Resolved,  That  the  apportionment,  or  distribution  of  the 
books  purchased  as  above  provided  for,  shall  be  determined  by 
the  school  committee  of  the  city  of  Boston. 

Resolved,  That  these  Resolves  shall  take  eff'ect  from  and  after 
their  passage.     [March  25,  1845.] 


CHAPTER    94. 

AN  ACT  RESPECTING  CORPORATIONS  FOR  MUTUAL  IMPROVEMENT 
AND  THE  PROMOTION  OF  EDUCATION. 

Section  I  Section 

1.  Corporations  under  R.  S.,  ch.  41,  ^  7,  associates  may  adopt, 

may  have  such  corporate  name  as  the  |        2.  Additional  powers  granted. 

Sect.  1.  Corporations  may  be  formed  pursuant  to  the  sev- 
enth section  of  the  forty-first  chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes, 
either  by  the  name  of  "  Lyceum,"  as  is  therein  provided,  or 
by  any  other  corporate  name  which  the  associates  shall  adopt. 

Sect.  2.  Corporations  formed  in  pursuance  of  the  said 
seventh  section  may,  in  addition  to  the  powers  and  privileges 
therein  granted,  have  and  exercise  all  the  powers  and  privi- 
leges granted  by  the  first  six  sections  of  said  forty-first  chapter, 
and  may  hold  real  and  personal  estate  to  any  amount  not  ex- 
ceeding twenty  thousand  dollars,  in  addition  to  the  value  of 
their  books.     [March  11,  1846.] 


CHAPTER    99. 

AN    ACT    TO    ESTABLISH    TEACHERs'    INSTITUTES. 


Section 

1.  Teachers'  Institutes  to  be  established 
by  the  Board  of  Education. 


Section 

2.  Expenses  of, — how  defrayed. 

3.  Fund  for,  cstal>lished. 


Sect.  1.     Whenever  reasonable  assurance  shall  be  given  to 
the  Board  of  Education,  that  a  number  not  less  than  seventy 


189 

[altered  to  fifty,  by  St.  1848,  ch.  10,]  teachers  of  Common 
Schools  shall  desire  to  assemble  for  the  purpose  of  forming  a 
Teachers'  Institute,  and  to  remain  in  session  for  a  period  not 
less  than  ten  working  days,  [see  St.  1849,  ch.  62,]  the  said 
Board,  by  a  committee  of  their  body,  or  by  their  Secretary,  or, 
in  case  of  his  inability,  by  such  person  or  persons  as  they  may 
delegate,  shall  appoint  a  time  and  place  for  said  meeting,  make 
suitable  arrangements  therefor,  and  give  due  notice  thereof. 

Sect.  2.  For  the  purpose  of  defraying  the  expenses  of 
rooms,  fires,  lights,  attendance,  or  other  necessary  charges,  and 
for  procuring  teachers  and  lectures  for  said  institute,  the  said 
Board,  their  Secretary,  or  other  person  or  persons  duly  appointed 
by  them,  may  draw  upon  the  treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth 
for  a  sum  not  exceeding  two  hundred  dollars  for  any  one  insti- 
tute, from  such  fund  as  may  be  in  the  treasury,  under  the 
general  warrant  of  the  Governor  for  said  purpose. 

Sect.  3.  To  meet  the  expenses  aforesaid,  the  Governor  is 
hereby  authorized  to  draw  his  warrant  upon  the  treasurer  for  a 
sum  not  exceeding  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  to 
be  taken  from  the  capital  of  the  school  fund,  and  to  remain  in 
the  treasury  subject  to  the  drafts  provided  for  in  the  second 
section  of  this  bill.     [March  12,  1846.] 


CHAPTER   219. 

AN  ACT  TO  DESIGNATE  THE  FUND  FOR  THE  PAYMENT  OF  THE 
SALARY  OF  THE  LAND  AGENT,  AND  OF  APPROPRIATIONS  FOR 
EDUCATIONAL    PURPOSES. 

Moneys,  hereafter  paid  or  appropriated  for  purposes  of  education,  to  be  a  ciiargc  upon  the 

school  fund. 

Sect.  2.  All  sums  of  money  which  shall  be  hereafter 
drawn  from  the  treasury,  by  virtue  of  appropriations  made,  or 
to  be  made,  for  educational  purposes,  shall  be  considered  as  a 
charge  upon  the  moiety  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the 
public  lands  now  set  apart  for  the  purpose  of  constituting  "  a 
school  fund,"  and  all  payments  made  on  account  of  such  ap- 
propriations shall  be  deducted  from  the  amount  received  into 
the  treasury  from  the  moiety  of  the  sales  of  the  public  lands, 
before  such  moiety  shall  be  credited  to  the  school  fund  :  pro- 
vided, however^  that  if  the  moneys  received  on  account  of  said 
moiety  should  not  be  sufficient  to  pay  the  sum  drawn  on  ac- 
count of  any  appropriation  for  educational  purposes,  such  draft 
shall  be  paid  from  "  the  school  fund,"  already  invested.  [April 
15,  1846.] 


190 


CHAPTER  223. 

AN    ACT    RELATING    TO    THE     DUTIES    OF    SCHOOL    COMMITTEES,    AND 
THE    DISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    INCOME    OF    THE     SCHOOL    FUND. 

Section  |  Section 

L  School  committees,  &c.,  to  hold  over  |  by  school  committees,  &c.     Notice  of 

till  winter  terms  are  closed,  and  returns  i  failure  to  receive  blanks,  &c. 

made  to  the  Secretary.                               1  4.  Report    of   school    committee    to    be 

2.  School  committee  to  ascertain  and  cer-  ;  transmitted  to  Secretary- ;  deposited  in 
lify  the  number  of  children,  &c.,  and  clerk's  office,  and  read  in  town  meet- 
certify-  the  amount  of  money  raised,  &c.  !  ing,  or  pui)lished. 

3.  Blanks,  <Si:,c.,  to  be  prescribed  by  !  5.  Distribution  of  income  of  school  fund. 
Board  of  Education,  Sec. ;  distributed  6.  Time  of  taking  effect.  Copies  to  be 
by  Secretary,  through  the  sheriffs  and  transmitted. 

town  clerks ;   and  filled  and   returned  |        7.  Repeal  of  inconsistent  jirovisions. 

Sect.  1.  In  every  city  and  town  in  the  Commonwealth,  in 
which  it  is  now  required  by  law  that  the  school  committee 
shall  be  elected  in  the  month  of  February,  March,  or  April, 
the  school  committee  of  the  year  preceding  such  election  shall 
continue  to  hold  their  office,  and  to  discharge  the  duties  there- 
of, notwithstanding  the  election  of  successors,  until  the  winter 
terms  of  the  several  schools  shall  have  closed,  and  until  the 
certificate,  return,  and  report,  as  hereinafter  provided,  shall 
have  been  by  them  made  and  transmitted  to  the  office  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth :  provided,  however,  that,  in 
regard  to  the  examination  of  teachers  for  the  summer  schools, 
the  visitation  of  those  schools,  and  all  other  duties,  except  the 
making  and  transmitting  of  the  said  documents,  the  term  of 
office  of  the  new  committee  shall  be  held  to  commence  imme- 
diately after  their  election  to  the  same. 

Sect.  2.  The  school  committee  of  each  city  and  town 
shall,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  the  first  day  of  May,  annually, 
ascertain,  by  actual  examination  or  otherwise,  the  number  of 
persons  between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen  years,  belonging 
to  such  city  or  town,  on  the  said  first  day  of  May,  and  shall  make 
a  certificate  thereof,  under  oath,  and  also  of  the  sum  raised  by 
such  city  or  town  for  the  support  of  schools,  including  only 
wages,  and  board  of  teachers,  and  fuel  for  the  schools,  during 
the  said  year ;  and  shall  transmit  the  same  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Commonwealth,  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  the  following 
April,  which  certificate  shall  be  in  the  following  form,  to  wit : 

We,  the  school  committee  of ,  do  certify,  from  the 

best  information  Ave  have  been  able  to  obtain,  that,  on  the  first 

day  of  May,  in  the  year ,  there  were  belonging  to  said 

town  the  number  of persons,  between  the  ages  of  four 

and  sixteen  years ;  [altered  to  five  and  fifteen.    See  St.  1849, 

'ch.  117,  >§>  1  ;j   and  we  further  certify,   that  said  town  raised 

the  surn  of dollars  for  the  support  of  Common  Schools 


191 

for  the  said  year,  including  only  the  wages  and  board  of  teach- 
ers, and  fuel  for  the  schools. 


School 
Committee. 


,  ss.  On  this  day  of ,  personally  ap- 
peared the  above-named  school  committee  of and  made 

oath  that  the  above  certificate  by  them  subscribed  is  true. 
Before  me, 

,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Sect.  3.  The  form  of  the  blanks,  and  the  inquiries  pro- 
vided for  by  the  statute  of  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven,  chapter  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven, 
shall  be  prescribed  by  the  Board  of  Education  ;  and  it  shall  be 
the  duty  of  said  Board,  in  the  month  of  January,  annually,  to 
transmit  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  copies  of  said 
blanks  for  the  several  cities  and  towns.  It  shall  be  the  duty 
of  said  Secretary  to  cause  said  blanks  to  be  forwarded  to  the 
sheriffs  of  the  several  counties,  who  shall  transmit  them  as  soon 
as  may  be  to  the  clerks  of  the  several  cities  and  towns  within 
their  counties  respectively,  and  said  clerks  shall  forthwith  trans- 
mit the  same  to  the  school  committees.  [See  St.  1849,  ch.  65.] 
The  school  committees  of  the  several  cities  and  towns  shall  re- 
turn said  blanks,  duly  filled  up,  to  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Commonwealth,  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  April.  If  any 
school  committee  shall  fail  to  receive  such  blank  form  of  re- 
tm-n  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  March,  they  shall  forthwith 
give  notice  thereof  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth, 
who  shall  transmit  such  blank  as  soon  as  may  be. 

Sect.  4.  The  school  committees  shall  annually  make  a  de- 
tailed report  of  the  condition  of  the  several  Public  Schools  in 
their  respective  cities  and  towns,  which  report  shall  contain 
such  statements  and  suggestions  in  relation  to  such  schools,  as 
the  said  committees  shall  deem  necessary  or  proper  to  promote 
the  interests  thereof;  and  a  certified  copy  of  such  report  shall 
be  transmitted  by  said  committees  to  the  office  of  the  Secretary 
of  the  Commonwealth,  on  or  before  the  last  day  of  April.  Said 
report  shall  also  be  deposited  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the 
city  or  town,  and  shall  either  be  read  in  open  town  meeting  in 
the  month  of  February,  March,  or  April,  or,  at  the  discretion 
of  the  school  committee,  shall  be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  in- 
habitants. 

Sect.  5.  The  income  of  the  Massachusetts  School  Fund, 
to  the  first  day  of  June  in  each  year,  except  the  sum  of  two 
hundred  and  forty  dollars  appropriated  to  the  support  of  schools 
among  the  Indians,  shall  be  apportioned  by  the  secretary  and 
treasurer,  and  paid  over  by  the  treasurer  on  the  tenth  day  of 


192 

July,  to  the  treasurers  of  the  several  cities  and  towns,  for  the 
use  of  the  Common  Schools  therein,  accordhig  to  the  number 
of  persons  therein,  between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen  years, 
[St.  1849,  ch.  117,  *§>  1,]  ascertained  and  certified  as  pro- 
vided in  the  second  section  of  this  act :  provided,  however, 
that  no  such  apportionment  shall  be  made  to  any  city  or  town 
which  shall  have  failed  to  comply  with  any  of  the  provisions 
of  this  act,  or  which  shall  not  have  raised  by  taxation,  for  the 
support  of  schools,  including  only  wages,  and  board  of  teach- 
ers, and  fuel  for  the  schools,  during  the  said  year,  a  sum 
equal  at  least  to  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  [one  dollar 
and  fifty  cents.  St.  1849,  ch.  117,  <§>  3, J  for  each  person  be- 
tween the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen  years,  belonging  to  said 
city  or  town  on  the  first  day  of  May  of  said  year. 

Sect.  6.  This  act  shall  take  efi'ect  from  and  after  the  last 
day  of  April,  in  the  present  year ;  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Commonwealth  shall  transmit  a  copy  thereof  to  the  school 
committee  of  each  city  arid  town,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  the 
passage  of  the  same. 

Sect.  7.  All  acts  and  parts  of  acts,  inconsistent  with  this 
act,  are  hereby  repealed.     [April  1.5,  1846.] 


CHAPTER  137. 


AN    ACT    RELATING    TO    COMMON    SCHOOLS. 


Section 

of  moneys  raised  for  this  purpose. 
3.  WJien  to  take  effect. 


Section 

1.  Towns  may  provide  for  the  instruction 

of  adults  in  reading,  &c. 
%.  Manner  of  assessment,  disposal,  «&c., 

Sect.  1.  In  addition  to  the  grants  of  money  for  Common 
Schools  which  cities  and  towns  are  now,  by  law,  authorized 
to  make,  any  city  or  town  may  appropriate  such  further  sums 
of  money  as  it  may  deem  expedient,  for  the  support  of  schools 
for  the  instruction  of  adults  in  reading,  writing,  English  gram- 
mar, arithmetic,  and  geography. 

Sect.  2.  Such  moneys  shall  be  assessed,  levied,  collected, 
and  paid  into  the  treasury,  in  the  same  manner  that  other  town 
or  city  taxes  are,  and  shall  then  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  school 
committee  of  the  town  or  city,  to  be  expended  by  them  for 
the  purpose  aforesaid,  in  such  manner  as  they  may  deem  expe- 
dient. 

Sect.  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its  pas- 
sage.    [March  29,  1847.J 


193 


CHAPTER  16. 

RESOLVE    RELATING    TO    THE    LIBRARY    OF    THE    STATE    PRISON. 
Annual  appropriation  of  ^100  after  April  1,  18-17,  to  be  expended  by  the  Warden,  &c. 

Resolved,  That,  from  and  after  the  first  day  of  April,  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-seven,  the  sum  of  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  annually,  shall  be  appropriated  from  the  funds  of 
the  State  Prison,  to  be  expended  by  the  warden,  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  inspectors  of  said  prison,  for  the  increase,  preser- 
vation and  care  of  the  library  of  said  prison.      [March  4,  1847.] 


CHAPTER  165. 

AN    ACT    TO    ESTABLISH    THE    STATE    REFORM    SCHOOL. 


Section 
1 


School  for  juvenile  offenders  in  West- 
borough.     Government  thereof. 

2.  Duties  of  trustees.     By-laws. 

3.  Governor  to  issue  proclamation  as  soon 
as,  &c. 

4.  3Iale  convicts,  under  sixteen,  may  be 
sentenced,  &c. 

5.  Reform  School  convicts  to  be  kept, 
&c.,  till  reformed  and  discharged,  or 
bound  out,  or  remanded  to  prison. 

6.  Trustees,  &c.  ma}',  in  their  discretion, 
deliver  said  convicts  to  be  imprisoned. 

7.  Period  of  commitment.  Release  from 
liabilities  at  discharge  from  school. 


Section 

8.  Binding  out  to  apprenticeship. 

9.  Course  and  purpose  of  instruction  and 
discipline. 

10.  Duties  of  the  superintendent  and  as- 
sistants. 

11.  Superintendent  to  give  bond,  &c.  To 
keep  accounts,  &c.,  and  a  register. 

12.  Contracts  made  by  the  superintendent. 

13.  Treasurer  to  give  bonds,  &c. 

14.  Trustees  to  take  charge  of  the  farm, 
&c. ;  and  to  be  changed  annually,  &c. ; 
and  to  serve  gratuitously. 

15.  Visitations.  Examinations.  Annual  ab- 
stracts of  reports  of  the  same,  &,c. 


Sect.  1.  There  shall  be  established,  in  the  town  of  West- 
borough,  in  the  county  of  Worcester,  on  the  land  conveyed  to 
the  Commonwealth  for  the  purpose,  a  school,  for  the  instruc- 
tion, employment  and  reformation  of  juvenile  offenders,  to  be 
called  the  State  Reform  School ;  and  the  government  of  said 
school  shall  be  vested  in  a  board  of  seven  trustees,  to  be  ap- 
pointed and  commissioned  by  the  Governor,  by  and  with  the 
advice  of  the  Council. 

Sect.  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  board  of  trustees  to 
take  charge  of  the  general  interests  of  the  institution ;  to  see 
that  its  affairs  are  conducted  in  accordance  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  Legislature,  and  of  such  by-laws  as  the  board 
may,  from  time  to  time,  adopt,  for  the  orderly  and  economical 
management  of  its  concerns ;  to  see  that  strict  discipline  is 
maintained  therein ;  to  provide  employment  for  the  inmates, 
and  bind  them  out,  discharge,  or  remand  them,  as  is  herein- 
after provided  ;  to  appoint  a  superintendent,  a  steward,  a  teach- 
er or  teachers,  and  such  other  officers  as,  in  their  judgment,  the 
wants  of  the  institution  may  require ;  to  prescribe  the  duties  of 
the  superintendent  and  other  ofiicers ;  to  exercise  a  vigilant  su- 
25 


pervision  over  the  institution,  its  officers  and  inmates ;  to  re- 
move such  officers  at  pleasure,  and  appoint  others  in  their  stead, 
and  to  determine  the  salaries  to  be  paid  to  the  officers,  respec- 
tively,— subject,  in  all  cases,  to  the  approval  of  the  Governor 
and  Council.  The  trustees  shall  also  prepare,  and  submit  to 
the  inspection  of  the  Governor  and  Council,  a  code  of  by-laws, 
which  shall  not  be  valid  until  sanctioned  by  them.  The  by- 
laws may,  subsequently,  be  enlarged  or  amended,  by  the  assent 
of  five  members  of  the  board  of  trustees,  at  any  legal  meeting 
of  said  board,  and  not  otherwise  ;  but  no  alteration  shall  be 
valid  until  it  shall  have  been  approved  by  the  Governor  and 
Council. 

Sect.  3.  As  soon  as  the  Governor  shall  have  been  notified, 
by  the  commissioners  to  be  appointed  under  a  Resolve  "  for 
erecting  the  State  Reform  School  buildings,"  that  said  build- 
ings are  prepared  for  occupancy,  he  shall  forthwith  issue  his 
proclamation,  giving  public  notice  of  the  fact. 

Sect.  4.  After  proclamation  shall  have  been  made,  as  pro- 
vided in  the  third  section  of  this  act,  when  any  boy,  under  the 
age  of  sixteen  years,  shall  be  convicted  of  any  offence  known 
to  the  laws  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  punishable  by  impris- 
onment, other  than  such  as  may  be  punished  by  imprisonment 
for  life,  the  court,  or  justice,  as  the  case  may  be,  before  whom 
such  conviction  shall  be  had,  may,  at  their  discretion,  sentence 
such  boy  to  the  State  Reform  School,  or  to  such  punishment 
as  is  now  provided  by  law  for  the  same  oflfence.  And  if 
the  sentence  shall  be  to  the  Reform  School,  then  it  shall  be 
in  the  alternative  to  the  State  Reform  School,  or  to  such  pun- 
ishment as  would  have  been  awarded  if  this  act  had  not  been 
passed. 

Sect.  5.  Any  boy,  so  convicted  and  sent  to  said  school, 
shall  there  be  kept,  disciplined,  instructed,  employed,  and  gov- 
erned, under  the  direction  of  said  board  of  trustees,  until  he 
shall  be  either  reformed  and  discharged,  or  shall  be  bound  out 
by  said  trustees,  according  to  their  by-laws,  or  shall  be  re- 
manded to  prison,  under  the  sentence  of  the  court,  as  incorri- 
gible, upon  information  of  the  trustees  as  hereinafter  provided. 

Sect.  6.  If  any  boy  shall,  upon  any  conviction,  be  sen- 
tenced to  said  school,  and  the  trustees,  or  any  two  of  them  in 
the  absence  of  the  others,  shall  deem  it  inexpedient  to  receive 
him,  or  if  he  shall  be  found  incorrigible,  or  his  continuance  in 
the  school  shall  be  deemed  prejudicial  to  the  management  and 
discipline  thereof,  they  shall  certify  the  same  upon  the  mitti- 
mus by  virtue  of  which  he  is  held,  which  mittimus,  together 
with  the  boy,  shall  be  delivered  to  the  sherill  of  any  county  or 
his  deputy,  or  to  the  constable  of  any  town,  who  shall,  forth- 
wiih,  commit  said  boy  to  the  jail,  house  of  correction,  or  State 


195 

prison,  as  the  case  may  be,  in  pursuance  of  the  aUernative  sen- 
tence provided  for  in  the  preceding  section  of  this  act. 

Sect.  7.  All  commitments  to  this  institution,  of  boys,  of 
whatever  age  when  committed,  shall  be  for  a  term  not  longer 
than  during  their  minority,  nor  less  than  one  year,  unless 
sooner  discharged  by  order  of  the  trustees,  as  hereinbefore  pro- 
vided ;  and  whenever  any  boy  shall  be  discharged  therefrom 
by  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  commitment,  or  as  reformed, 
or  as  having  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  such  dis- 
charge shall  be  a  full  and  complete  release  from  all  penalties 
and  disabilities  which  may  have  been  created  by  such  sentence. 

Sect.  8.  The  trustees  of  this  school  shall  have  power  to 
bind  out  all  boys  committed  to  their  charge,  for  any  term  of 
time  during  the  period  for  which  they  shall  have  been  commit- 
ted, as  apprentices  or  servants,  to  any  inhabitants  of  this  Com- 
monwealth ;  and  the  said  trustees,  and  master  or  mistress,  ap- 
prentice or  servant,  shall,  respectively,  have  all  the  rights  and 
privileges,  and  be  subject  to  all  the  duties,  set  forth  in  the 
eightieth  chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  in  the  same  manner 
as  if  said  binding  or  apprenticing  were  made  by  overseers  of 
the  poor. 

Sect.  9.  The  trustees  shall  cause  the  boys  under  their 
charge  to  be  instructed  in  piety  and  morality,  and  in  such 
branches  of  useful  knowledge  as  shall  be  adapted  to  their  age 
and  capacity  ;  they  shall  also  be  instructed  in  some  regular 
course  of  labor,  either  mechanical,  manufacturing,  agricultural, 
or  horticultural,  or  a  combination  of  these,  as  shall  be  best 
suited  to  their  age  and  strength,  disposition  and  capacity ;  also 
such  other  arts  and  trades,  as  may  seem  to  them  best  adapted 
to  secure  the  reformation,  amendment,  and  future  benefit  of 
the  boys  ;  and,  in  binding  out  the  inmates,  the  trustees  shall 
have  scrupulous  regard  to  the  religious  and  moral  character  of 
those  to  whom  they  are  to  be  bound,  to  the  end  that  they  may 
secure  to  the  boys  the  benefit  of  a  good  example  and  whole- 
some instruction,  and  the  sure  means  of  improvement  in  virtue 
and  knowledge,  and,  thus,  the  opportunity  of  becoming  intel- 
ligent, moral,  useful,  and  happy  citizens  of  this  Common- 
wealth. 

Sect.  10.  The  superintendent,  with  such  subordinate  offi- 
cers as  the  trustees  shall  appoint,  shall  have  the  charge  and 
custody  of  the  boys.  He  shall  himself  be  a  constant  resident  at 
the  institution ;  and  shall  discipline,  govern,  instruct,  and  em- 
ploy, and  use  his  best  endeavors  to  reform  the  inmates,  in  such 
manner  as,  while  preserving  their  health,  will  secure  the  for- 
mation, as  far  as  possible,  of  moral,  religious,  and  industrious 
habits,  and  regular,  thorough  progress  and  improvement  in 
their  studies,  trades,  and  various  employments. 


196 

Sect.  11.  The  superintendent  shall  have  the  charge  of  the 
lands,  buildings,  furniture,  tools,  implements,  stock,  and  pro- 
visions, and  every  other  species  of  property  pertaining  to  the 
institution,  within  the  precincts  thereof;  he  shall,  before  he 
enters  upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  give  a  bond  to  the  Common- 
wealth, with  sureties  satisfactory  to  the  Governor  and  Council, 
in  the  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars,  conditioned  that  he  shall 
faithfully  account  for  all  moneys  received  by  him  as  superin- 
tendent, and  faithfully  perform  all  the  duties  incumbent  on 
him  as  such.  He  shall  keep,  in  suitable  books,  regular  and 
complete  accounts  of  all  his  receipts  and  expenditures,  and  of 
all  property  entrusted  to  him,  showing  the  inconte  and  ex- 
penses of  the  institution  ;  and  he  shall  account  to  the  treasurer, 
in  such  manner  as  the  trustees  may  require,  for  all  moneys  re- 
ceived by  him  from  the  proceeds  of  the  farm  or  otherwise. 
His  books,  and  all  documents  relating  to  the  school,  shall,  at 
all  times,  be  open  to  the  inspection  of  the  trustees,  who  shall, 
at  least  once  in  every  six  months,  carefully  examine  the  said 
books  and  accounts,  and  the  vouchers  and  documents  con- 
nected therewith,  and  make  a  record  of  the  result  of  such  ex- 
amination. He  shall  keep  a  register,  containing  the  name  and 
age  of  each  boy,  and  the  circumstances  connected  with  his 
early  history  ;  and  he  shall  add  such  facts  as  may  come  to  his 
knowledge  relating  to  the  subsequent  history  of  said  boy, 
while  at  the  institution,  and  after  he  shall  have  left  it. 

Sect.  12.  All  contracts,  on  account  of  the  institution,  shall 
be  made  by  the  superintendent,  in  writing,  and  when  approved 
by  the  trustees,  if  their  by-laws  require  it,  shall  be  binding  in 
law,  and  the  superintendent,  or  his  successor,  may  sue,  or  be 
be  sued  thereon,  to  final  judgment  and  execution ;  and  no  such 
suit  shall  abate  by  reason  of  the  office  of  superintendent  be- 
coming vacant  pending  such  suit,  but  any  successor  of  the  su- 
perintendent may  take  upon  himself  the  prosecution  or  defence 
thereof,  and,  upon  motion  of  the  adverse  party,  and  notice,  he 
shall  be  requii-ed  so  to  do. 

Sect.  13.  There  shall  be  a  treasurer,  to  be  appointed  by 
the  Governor  and  Council,  who  shall,  before  he  enters  upon 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office,  give  a  bond  to  the 
Commonwealth,  with  sureties  satisfactory  to  the  Governor  and 
Council,  in  the  sum  of  three  thousand  dollars,  conditioned  that 
he  shall  faithfully  account  for  all  money  received  by  him  as 
treasurer ;  which  bond,  and  also  that  of  the  superintendent, 
when  approved,  shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  treasurer  and 
receiver  general. 

Sect.  14.  The  board  of  trustees  shall  be  appointed  forth- 
with, and  they  shall  take  charge  of  the  farm  in  Westborough 
which  belongs  to  the  Commonwealth,  except  so  much  thereof 


197 

as  shall  be  needed  for  the  purposes  of  the  commissioners,  for 
the  erection  of  the  buildings.  When  the  Governor  shall  have 
made  proclamation  that  the  buildings  are  ready  for  occupancy, 
the  school  and  the  buildings  shall  be  at  once  in  the  charge  of 
the  trustees. 

When  two  years  shall  have  expired  after  the  first  appoint- 
ment of  a  board  of  trustees,  two  trustees  shall  be  appointed 
and  commissioned  annually ;  and,  for  this  purpose,  the  places 
of  the  two  senior  members,  as  they  stand  arranged  in  their 
commission,  shall  be,  thereafter,  annually  vacated.  No  trustee 
shall  receive  any  compensation  for  his  services ;  but  he  shall 
be  allowed  the  amount  of  expenses  incurred  by  him  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  of  his  office. 

Sect.  15.  One  or  more  of  the  trustees  shall  visit  the  school 
at  least  once  in  every  two  weeks,  at  which  time  the  boys  shall 
be  examined  in  the  schoolroom  and  workshop,  and  the  regis- 
ter shall  be  inspected.  A  record  shall  be  regularly  kept,  of 
these  visits,  in  the  books  of  the  superintendent. 

Once  in  every  three  months,  the  school,  in  all  its  depart- 
ments, shall  be  thoroughly  examined  by  a  majority  of  the 
board  of  trustees,  and  a  report  made,  showing  the  results  of 
these  examinations.  Annually,  in  the  month  of  December,  an 
abstract  of  these  quarterly  reports  shall  be  prepared,  Avhich,  to- 
gether with  a  full  report  by  the  superintendent,  shall  be  laid 
before  the  Governor  and  Council,  for  the  information  of  the 
Legislature.  The  treasurer  shall  also  submit,  at  the  same  time, 
a  financial  statement,  furnishing  an  accurate  detailed  account 
of  the  receipts  and  expenditures,  for  the  year  terminating  on 
the  last  day  of  the  month  of  November  next  preceding.  [April 
9,  1847.] 


CHAPTER  183. 

AN    ACT    RELATING    TO    THE    ABSTRACTS    OF    SCHOOL    RETURNS    AND 
THE    DUTIES    OF    SCHOOL    COMMITTEES. 

Section  |  Section 

1.  Abstracts  to  be  made  by  the  Secretary  fund,  &c.,  may  withhold  compensation 
of  the  Board  of  Education.  from  school  committees. 

2.  Towns  losing  their  income  from  school  | 

Sect.  1.  The  abstracts  of  school  returns,  prescribed  by  the 
statute  of  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-seven,  chapter  two  hun- 
dred and  forty-one,  shall,  hereafter,  be  made  up  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Board  of  Education  ;  and  so  much  of  any  act,  as 
provides  that  the  said  abstracts  shall  be  made  up  in  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  State,  is  hereby  repealed. 

Sect.  2.  Any  city  or  town  may  withhold  such  compensa- 
tion as  the  school  committee  of  such  city  or  town  are  now  au- 


198 

thorized,  by  law,  to  receive,  if  such  town  shall  have  forfeited 
its  due  portion  of  the  income  of  the  school  fund  through  the 
failure  of  such  committee  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the 
law  in  relation  to  school  returns.     [April  14,  1S47.] 


[For  the  act  concerning  the  House  for  the  Reformation  and 
Employment  of  Juvenile  Offenders,  in  the  city  of  Boston,  see 
St.  1847,  ch.  208.1 


CHAPTER   49. 

RESOLVE    CONCERNING    THE    PERKINS    INSTITUTION   AND    MASSACHU- 
SETTS   ASYLUM    FOR    THE    BLIND. 

Appropriation  of  ^9000  aunually.     Repeal  of  previous  Resolves. 

Resolved,  That  there  be  allowed  and  paid  annually,  in  quar- 
terly payments,  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Commonwealth,  the 
sum  of  nine  thousand  dollars  to  the  treasurer  of  the  Perkins 
Institution  and  Massachusetts  Asylum  for  the  Blind,  for  the 
use  of  said  institution,  said  payments  to  continue  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  Legislature,  and  no  longer  :  provided,  that  the 
said  institution  shall  receive,  board,  lodge,  and  educate,  forty 
indigent  blind  persons  belonging  to  the  Commonwealth,  if  so 
many  shall  be  recommended,  to  be  placed  there  in  conformity 
to  the  Resolves  passed  by  the  Legislature  on  the  sixteenth  and 
twenty-eighth  of  February,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty-three ;  and  the  Governor  is  requested  to  draw  his  war- 
rants accordingly.  All  previous  Resolves,  granting  money  to 
the  said  institution,  are  hereby  repealed.      [April  17,  1847.] 


CHAPTER  71. 

RESOLVES    CONCERNING    THE    ANNUAL    REPORTS    OF    THE    BOARD    OF 
EDUCATION    AND    THE     ABSTRACTS    OF    SCHOOL    RETURNS. 

Clerk  of  the  Senate  to  print  6000  copies  of  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  of  the  Senate,  for  the  time  being, 
be  authorized  and  directed  to  cause  to  be  printed,  annually,  be- 
fore the  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as 
may  be,  six  thousand  [altered  to  eight  thousand,  by  Res.  of 
1849,  ch.  52,]  copies  of  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  instead  of  the  number  authorized  by  the  Resolves 
of  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-four,  chapter 
fifty-seven.     [Second  Resolve  superseded.]     [April  23,  1847.] 


199 

[Resolve  of  1847,  ch.  82,  appropriating  ^6000  annually  for 
the  support  of  the  State  Normal  Schools,  superseded  by  Re- 
solve of  1849,  ch.  89,  which  makes  an  appropriation  of  $7000 
a  year  for  the  same  object.] 


CHAPTER    10. 


AN     ACT     IN     ADDITION     TO    "  AN     ACT     TO     ESTABLISH    TEACHERS' 

INSTITUTES." 


Section 

].  Teachers'  Institutes  to  be  established 
on  application   of   50    instead    of   70 


Section 

teachers. 
2.  Repealing 


assurance  shall  be  given  to 


Sect.  1.  Whenever  reasonable 
the  Board  of  Education,  that  a  number,  not  less  than  fifty 
teachers  of  Common  Schools,  shall  desire  to  assemble  for  the 
purpose  of  forming  a  Teachers'  Institute,  according  to  the 
ninety-ninth  chapter  of  the  statutes  of  the  year  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  forty-six,  the  Board  of  Education  shall  appoint  a 
time  and  place  for  said  meeting,  in  manner  and  form  as  is  pre- 
scribed in  the  act  aforesaid. 

Sect.  2.  Any  thing  contained  in  the  act  aforesaid,  contrary 
to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  is  hereby  repealed.  [February 
11,  1848.] 


CHAPTER   29. 

AN     ACT     TO     PROVIDE     FOR     THE     INSTRUCTION    OF    PRISONERS    IN 
JAILS    AND    HOUSES    OF    CORRECTION. 


Section 

1.  County  commissioners  to  provide 
moral  and  religious  instruction  for  pris- 
oners in  the  jails  and  houses  of  correc- 
tion. 


Section 

2.  Expenses  of  such  instruction  to  be  re- 
turned by  inspectors  of  prisons. 

3.  When  to  take  effect. 


Sect.  1.  The  county  commissioners  of  the  several  coun- 
ties in  this  Commonwealth  are  hereby  authorized,  at  their  dis- 
cretion, and  at  the  expense  of  their  respective  counties,  to  pro- 
vide moral  and  religious  instruction  for  the  prisoners  confined 
in  the  jails  and  houses  of  correction  of  their  respective  coun- 
ties. 

Sect.  2.  The  inspectors  of  prisons  in  the  several  counties 
shall  cause  to  be  transmitted,  in  their  annual  returns  to  the 
Governor,  a  statement  of  the  expense  incurred  in  carrying  this 
act  into  effect  in  their  respective  counties. 

Sect.  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its  pas- 
sage.    [February  28,  1848.] 


200 


CHAPTER    173. 

AN     ACT      IN     ADDITION    TO    AN    ACT    RELATING     TO     ABSTRACTS     OF 
SCHOOL    RETURNS,    AND    THE    DUTIES    OF    SCHOOL    COMMITTEES. 


Section 

ncgrlect. 
2.  ^^  hen  to  take  effect. 


Section 

1.  Compensation  of  school  committee 
ma}-  be  withheld,  in  case  of  forfeiture 
of  income  of  school  fund  through  their  | 

Sect.  1.  Any  city,  or  town,  may  withhold  such  compen- 
sation as  the  school  committee  of  such  city,  or  town,  are  now 
authorized  by  law  to  receive,  if  such  town  shall  have  forfeited 
its  due  portion  of  the  income  of  the  school  fund,  through  the 
failure  of  such  committee  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  the 
fourth  section  of  the  two  hundred  and  twenty-third  chapter  of 
the  general  laws  passed  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  forty-six. 

Sect.  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  the  thir- 
tieth day  of  June,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty-eight.     [April  22,  1848.] 


CHAPTER   237. 

AN    ACT   TO    AUTHORIZE    TOWNS    TO    TAKE    LAND    FOR    SCHOOL- 
HOUSES. 


Section 


L  Selectmen  may  lay  out  land  for  school- 
houses,  in  the  same  manner  as  for  high- 
ways, provided  the  owner  refuse  to  sell, 
or  demand  an  unreasonable  price. 


Section 

2.  Owner  of  land  taken  may  have  a  jury 
to  revise  the  proceedings. 

3.  Repealing  clause. 


Sect.  1.  Whenever  a  suitable  place  shall  have  been  desig- 
nated, by  any  town  or  school  district,  for  the  erection  of  a 
schoolhouse  and  necessary  buildings,  agreeably  to  the  provis- 
ions of  the  twenty-third  chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  and 
the  owner  of  the  land  shall  refuse  to  sell  the  same,  or  shall 
demand  therefor  a  price  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the  selectmen, 
is  unreasonable,  the  said  selectmen,  with  the  approbation  of  the 
town,  may  proceed  to  select,  at  their  discretion,  a  schoolhouse 
lot,  and  lay  out  the  same,  not  exceeding  in  quantity  forty 
square  rods,  and  to  appraise  the  damages  to  the  owner  of  such 
land,  in  the  same  way  and  manner  as  is  provided  for  laying 
out  townways  and  appraising  damages  sustained  thereby  ;  and 
upon  payment,  or  tender  of  payment,  of  the  amount  of  such 
damages,  by  the  town  or  district  designating  such  schoolhouse 
lot,  to  the  owner  thereof,  the  said  land  shall  be  taken,  held, 
and  used,  for  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  designated. 

Sect.  2.     Whenever   the   owner   of  such   land   shall  feel 


201 

aggrieved  by  the  selection  and  location  of  such  lot,  and  the 
damages  awarded,  he  shall  be  entitled  to  have  the  nieatter  of 
complaint  tried  by  a  jury,  which  may  be  applied  for  within 
one  year  after  the  location  of  such  lot,  and  shall  be  ordered 
accordingly  by  the  county  commissioners  ;  and  the  jury  shall 
have  the  power  to  change  the  location  and  assess  the  damages, 
and  the  proceedings  shall,  in  all  respects,  be  conducted  in  the 
same  manner  as  is  provided  in  cases  of  damages  by  laying  out 
highways  ;  and  if  the  damages  shall  be  increased,  or  the  location 
be  changed  by  the  jury,  the  damages  and  all  charges  shall  be 
paid  by  the  town  or  district  for  whose  benefit  the  lot  is  se- 
lected ;  otherwise,  the  charges  which  may  arise  on  such  appli- 
cation shall  be  paid  by  such  applicant.  And  the  land  so  taken 
shall  be  held  and  used  for  no  other  purpose  than  that  contem- 
plated in  this  act,  and  shall  revert  to  the  owner,  his  heirs  or 
assigns,  upon  the  discontinuance  thereon,  for  one  year,  of  such 
school  as  is  now,  or  may  hereafter  be,  required  of  the  town  or 
district  by  law. 

Sect.   3.     All  such  provisions  of   law  as  are   inconsistent 
with  this  act  are  hereby  repealed.      [May  1,  1848.J 

CHAPTER    65. 

RESOLVES    CONCERNING    TRAINING    AND    TEACHING    IDIOTS. 

A  sum  not  exceeding  ^2500  annually  for  training-,  &c.,  ten  idiotic  children.  Account  of 
expense  of  such  tramiug,  &c.,  to  be  rendered  annually  to  Governor  and  Council.  Towns 
to  furnish  such  children  with  clothing,  if  paupers.  Governor  authorized  to  draw  his  war- 
rant. 

Resolved,  That  there  be  paid,  out  of  the  treasury  of  the 
Commonwealth,  a  sum  not  exceeding  tAventy-five  hundred 
dollars  annually,  for  the  term  of  three  years,  for  the  purpose  of 
training  and  teaching  ten  idiotic  children,  to  be  selected,  by 
the  Governor  and  Council,  from  those  at  public  charge,  or  from 
the  families  of  indigent  persons,  in  ditferent  parts  of  the  Com- 
monwealth :  provided,  that  an  arrangement  can  be  made  by 
the  Governor  and  Council  with  any  suitable  institution  now 
patronized  by  the  Commonwealth  for  charitable  purposes  ;  aiid 
provided,  that  said  appropriation  shall  not  be  made  a  charge 
upon  the  school  fund. 

Resolved,  That  the  trustees  of  the  institution  undertaking 
the  instruction  and  training  of  said  idiots  shall,  at  the  end  of 
each  and  every  year,  render  to  the  Governor  and  Council  an 
account  of  the  actual  expense  incurred  on  account  of  said  idiots  ; 
and,  if  the  amount  expended  shall  be  less  than  the  sum  re- 
ceived from  the  public  treasury,  the  unexpended  balance  shall 
be  deducted  from  the  amount  of  the  next  annual  appropriation. 

Resolved,  That  the  said  trustees  shall  be  authorized  to  re- 
26 


202 

quire  that  the  authorities  of  any  town  which  may  send  any 
idiot  pauper  to  them  for  instruction,  be  required  to  keep  them 
supplied  with  comfortable  and  decent  clothing. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  authorized  to  draw  his  war- 
rant for  twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  on  the  treasurer  of  the 
Commonwealth,  in  favor  of  the  treasurer  of  any  institution 
which  shall  take  the  responsibility  of  training  and  teaching 
said  ten  idiots,  as  soon  as  he  shall  receive  official  information 
that  the  trustees  will  assume  that  responsibility.  [May  8, 
184S.J 


CHAPTER   274. 

AN    ACT    RELATING    TO    DISTRICT    SCHOOLHOUSES. 


Section 

the  purposes  of  §  28. 
2.  Wheu  to  take  effect. 


Skction 

1.  To\vns  voting  money,  in  pursuance  of 
R.  S.,  ch.  23,  ^  14,  may  empower  se- 
lectmen, &c.,  to  expend  the  same  for 

Sect.  1.  Whenever  the  inhabitants  of  any  town  shall,  ac- 
cording to  the  provisions  of  the  forty-fourth  section  of  the 
twenty-third  chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  vote  any  sum 
for  any  of  the  purposes  named  in  the  twenty-eighth  section  of 
the  said  twenty-third  chapter,  they  may  also  empower  the 
selectmen  of  the  town,  or  the  school  committee,  or  may  choose 
any  committee,  to  carry  into  efiect  the  provisions  of  said 
twenty-eighth  section,  if  the  inhabitants  of  any  school  district 
shall  neglect  or  refuse  to  choose  such  committee. 

Sect.  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its  pas- 
sage.    [May  9,  1848.] 

CHAPTER   279. 

AN    ACT    TO    AUTHORIZE     ADJACENT    TOWNS    TO    UNITE    FOR    SCHOOL 

PURPOSES. 


Section 

1.  Union  of  adjacent  towns  to  form  a 
high  school  district. 

2.  School  committees  of  such  towns  to 
elect  one  member  from  each  board, 
to  form  the  committee  for  such  school. 

3.  Such  committee  to  determine  the  loca- 


Section 

tion  of  schoolhouse,  if  authorized  to 
be  built,  or  authorize  location  of  the 
school,  alternately  in  the  two  towns. 
Towns  to  be  assessed  for  the  ex- 
penses, according  to  their  proportions 
of  the  county  tax. 


Sect.  1.  Any  two  adjacent  towns,  having  not  more  than 
two  thousand  inhabitants  each,  may  form  one  high  school  dis- 
trict, for  establishing  such  a  school  as  is  contemplated  in  the 
fifth  section  of  the  twenty-third  chapter  of  the  Revised  Stat- 
utes, whenever  a  majority  of  the  citizens  of  each  town,  in 
meetings  called  for  that  purpose,  shall  so  determine. 

Sect.  2.  The  school  committees  of  the  two  towns,  so 
united,  shall  elect  one  from  each  of  their  respective  boards, 
and  the  two,  so  elected,  shall  form  the  committee  for  the  man- 


203 

agement  and  control  of  such  school,  with  all  the  powers  con- 
ferred upon  school  committees  and  prudential  committees. 

Sect.  3.  The  committee,  provided  for  in  the  foregoing  sec- 
tion, shall  determine  the  location  of  such  schoolhouse  as  shall 
be  authorized  to  be  built  by  the  towns  forming  such  district, 
or  authorize  the  location  of  such  school  alternately,  in  the 
two  towns,  whenever  the  towns  shall  not  determine  to  erect  a 
house  for  its  permanent  location. 

Sect.  4.  In  the  erection  of  any  schoolhouse  for  the  per- 
manent location  of  such  school,  and  in  the  support  and  main- 
tenance of  the  same,  and  in  all  incidental  expenses  attending 
the  same,  the  proportions  to  be  paid  by  each  town,  unless 
otherwise  agreed  upon,  shall  be  according  to  the  proportions  of 
such  towns  in  the  county  tax.     [May  9,  1848.] 


St.  1848,  chap.  283,  repeals  St.  1840,  chap.  76. 


CHAPTER   301. 

AN    ACT     GRANTING     AID     TO     COUNTY     ASSOCIATIONS     OF     TEACHERS 

AND    OTHERS, 


Section 

1.  County  associations  of  teachers  hold- 
ings two  meetings  a  year,  of  not  less 
than  two  da^'s  each,  to  receive  §50 
annually  from  the  State. 


Section 

2.  Warrant  for  same  to  be  drawn,  on  the 
sworn  certificate  of  president  and  sec- 
retary. 

3.  When  to  take  effect. 


Sect.  1.  Whenever  a  county  association  of  teachers  and 
Others,  which  has  been  or  may  be  formed,  shall  hold  semi- 
annual meetings,  of  not  less  than  two  days  each,  for  the  ex- 
press purpose  of  promoting  the  interests  of  Common  Schools, 
such  association  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  fifty  dollars  a  year 
from  the  State. 

Sect.  2.  In  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  the  first  section 
of  this  act,  when  the  president  and  secretary  of  the  association 
shall,  under  oath,  have  certified  to  the  Governor  that  two  semi- 
annual meetings  have  been  held,  as  aforesaid,  he  is  hereby 
authorized  to  draw  his  warrant,  in  favor  of  said  association, 
on  the  treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth,  for  the  sum  of  fifty 
dollars. 

Sect.  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its  pas- 
sage.    [May  10,  1848.] 


204 
CHAPTER  305. 

AN  ACT  CONCERNING  THE  STATE  REFORM  SCHOOL. 


Section 

1.  Trustees  of  State  Reform  School,  for 
time  beinj,  to  be  a  corporaliou  for  cer- 


Section 

tain  purposes. 
2.  When  to  take  cflcct. 


Sect.  1.  The  trustees  of  the  State  Reform  School,  for  the 
time  being,  shall  be  a  corporation,  by  the  name  of  the  Trus- 
tees of  the  State  Reform  School,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
and  holding,  to  themselves  and  their  successors,  in  trust  for  the 
Commonwealth,  any  grant  or  devise  of  lands,  and  any  dona- 
tion or  bequest  of  money,  or  other  personal  property,  which 
has  been  or  may  hereafter  be  made  for  the  use  of  said  insti- 
tution ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  and  investing  the 
proceeds  of  any  such  grant,  devise,  donation,  or  bequest,  in 
notes  or  bonds  secured  by  good  and  sufficient  mortgages,  or  in 
other  securities  ;  with  all  the  powers  necessary  to  carry  into 
effect  the  purposes  aforesaid. 

Sect.  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its  pas- 
sage.    [May  10,  1848.] 

CHAPTER   324. 

AN    ACT    IN    RELATION    TO    PRISONERS. 
Instruction  in  reading  and  writing  to  be  furnished  to  prisoners. 

Sect.  3.  The  warden  and  inspectors  of  the  State  prison, 
the  county  commissioners  of  each  county,  the  mayor  and 
aldermen  of  the  city  of  Boston,  with  the  sheriffs  of  each 
county,  respectively,  are  hereby  authorized  to  furnish,  at  the 
expense  of  said  counties,  suitable  instructions  in  reading  and 
writing,  for  one  hour  each  evening,  (except  Sundays,)  to  all 
such  prisoners  as  may  be  benefited  by  such  instruction,  and 
desirous  to  receive  the  same,      [May  10,  1848.] 


CHAPTER   34. 

'RESOLVES    RELATING     TO      A     REPRINT    OF    THE    TENTH    REPORT    OF 
THE    SECRETARY    OF    THE    BOARD    OF    EDUCATION. 

Horace  Mann  to  prepare  the  Report.    Number  of  copies.     Compensation. 

Resolved,  That  the  late  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, Honorable  Horace  Mann,  be  hereby  appointed  to  prepare, 
for  republication,  so  much  of  his  Tenth  Annual  Report,  as, 
with  the  requisite  additions  and  alterations,  to  be  also  made  by 
him,  will  exhibit  a  just  and  correct  view  of  the  Common 
School  system  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  provisions  of  law 
relating  to  it. 


205 

Resolved,  That  there  be  printed  ten  thousand  copies  of  such 
repubHcation,  to  be  distributed  and  disposed  of  in  the  same 
manner  as  is  now,  or  may  be  provided,  in  regard  to  the  Annual 
Reports  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  and  Council  be  authorized  to 
determine  the  compensation  to  be  made  to  Mr.  Mann,  for  the 
foregoing  service,  and  to  draw  upon  the  treasurer  of  the  Com- 
monwealth for  the  amount.     [March  23,  1849.] 


CHAPTER  59. 

AN  ACT  TO  PREVENT  DISTURBANCES  OF  SCHOOLS  AND  PUBLIC 

MEETINGS. 

Penalty  of  imprisonment  or  fine,  for. 

Every  person  who  shall  wilfully  interrupt  or  disturb  any 
school  or  other  assembly  of  people,  met  for  a  lawful  purpose 
within  the  place  of  such  meeting,  or  out  of  it,  shall  be  pun- 
ished by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail,  not  more  than  thirty 
days,  or  by  fine  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars.     [March  27,  1849.] 


CHAPTER  62. 

AN    ACT     RELATING    TO    TEACHERs'    INSTITUTES. 

Section  I  Section 

1.  Board  of  Education  to  determine  the  2.  Repealing  clause, 

length  of  sessions.  | 

Sect.  1.  The  Board  of  Education  are  authorized  to  deter- 
mine the  length  of  time  during  which  the  Teachers'  Institutes, 
established  under  the  ninety-ninth  chapter  of  the  statutes  of 
the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-six,  and  the  tenth  chapter 
of  the  statutes  of  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-eight, 
shall  remain  in  session. 

Sect.  2.  Any  thing  contained  in  the  acts  aforesaid,  con- 
trary to  the  provisions  of  this  act,  is  hereby  repealed.  [March 
27,  1849.] 


CHAPTER  65. 

AN  ACT  CONCERNING  THE  DISTRIBUTION,  CUSTODY,  AND  PRESER- 
VATION OF  SCHOOL  RETURNS,  AND  OTHER  DOCUMENTS  AND 
PAPERS     RELATING     TO     SCHOOLS. 

Section 


Section 

1.  School    documents,   how   distributed  5 
fee  of  sheriffs. 

2.  Duty  of  town  clerks,  &c.,  as  to  dis- 
tributing,— of    school     committee, — of 


district    clerks    and    prudential    com- 
mittee. 
3.  Slat.  1845,  ch.  100,  repealed. 


Sect.  1.     It  shall  be  the  duty  of,  the  Secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Education  to  cause  the  blank  forms  of  inquiry,  the  school 


206 

registers,  the  abstract  of  school  returns,  and  the  annual  report 
of  the  Board  of  Education,  and  that  of  its  Secretary,  to  be  for- 
warded to  the  sheriffs  of  the  several  counties,  for  distribution 
to  the  clerks  of  the  several  towns  and  cities  within  their  coun- 
ties respectively,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  sheriff  so  to 
distribute  them ;  and  he  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  three  cents 
a  copy  for  each  copy  of  said  several  documents  so  distributed, 
to  be  paid  by  the  treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth. 

Sect.  2.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  clerk  of  each  of  the 
several  cities  or  towns  to  deliver  the  blank  forms  of  inquiry, 
and  the  registers,  when  the  same  shall  be  received  by  him,  to 
the  school  committee ;  it  shall  also  be  his  duty  to  deliver  one 
copy  of  the  said  abstract  and  reports  to  the  secretary  of  the 
school  committee  of  the  city  or  town,  to  be  by  him  carefully 
kept  for  the  use  of  the  said  committee,  and  handed  over  to  his 
successor  in  office ;  and  also  two  additional  copies  of  said  re- 
ports for  the  use  of  said  committee  ;  and,  further,  it  shall  be 
the  duty  of  the  clerks  of  the  several  cities  or  towns  to  deliver 
one  copy  of  the  said  reports  to  the  clerk  of  each  of  the  school 
districts  in  the  respective  cities  or  towns,  to  be  by  him  depos- 
ited in  the  district  school  library,  if  there  be  one,  and  if  not,  to 
be  by  him  carefully  kept  for  the  use  of  the  prudential  commit- 
tee, the  teachers,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  district,  during  his 
continuance  in  office,  and  then  to  be  handed  over  to  his  suc- 
cessor ;  and,  in  case  the  city  or  town  shall  not  be  districted, 
the  said  reports  shall  be  delivered  to  the  school  committee,  and 
so  placed  by  them,  that  they  shall  be  accessible  to  the  several 
teachers,  and  to  the  citizens ;  and  they  shall  be  deemed  to  be 
the  property  of  the  town  or  city,  and  not  of  any  officer,  teacher, 
or  citizen  thereof. 

Sect.  3.  The  one  hundredth  chapter  of  the  acts,  passed  in 
the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-five,  is  hereby 
repealed.     [March  30,  1849.] 


CHAPTER   52. 

RESOLVE  CONCERNING  THE  ANNUAL  REPORT  OF  THE  BOARD  OF 

EDUCATION. 
Clerk  of  Senate  to  cause  the  report  to  be  printed. 

Resolved,  That  the  Clerk  of  the  Senate,  for  the  time  being, 
be  authorized  and  directed  to  cause  to  be  printed  annually,  be- 
fore the  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as 
may  be,  eight  thousand  copies  of  the  Annual  Report  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  instead  of  the  number  authorized  by  the 
Resolves  of  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
seven,  chapter  seventy-one  ;  that  three  thousand  copies  of  said 
report  be  distributed  annually  for  the  use  of  the  members  of 
the  Legislature.     [April  4,  1849.] 


207 


CHAPTER  81. 

AN    ACT    RELATING  TO   SCHOOL    LIBRARIES  AND   SCHOOL    APPARATUS. 


Section 

2.  Stat.  1837,  ch.  147,  repealed. 


Section 

1.  School  districts  may  raise  money  for 
the  purchase  of  school  libraries,  &c. 

Sect,  1.  The  inhabitants  of  any  school  district,  in  any  city 
or  town,  and  of  any  city  or  town  not  divided  into  school  dis- 
tricts, in  this  Commonwealth,  may,  at  any  meeting  called  for 
that  purpose,  raise  money  for  the  purchase  of  libraries,  and 
necessary  school  apparatus,  in  the  same  manner  as  school  dis- 
tricts may  now  raise  money  for  erecting  and  repairing  school- 
houses  in  their  respective  districts. 

Sect.  2.  The  one  hundred  and  forty-seventh  chapter  of 
the  statutes,  passed  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty-seven,  is  hereby  repealed.     [April  5,  1849.] 


CHAPTER  117. 

AN  ACT  TO  AMEND  "  AN  ACT  RELATING  TO  THE  DUTIES  OF  SCHOOL 
COMMITTEES,  AND  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  INCOME  OF  THE 
SCHOOL    FUND." 

Section  Section 

1.  School  committees  to  return  the  num-  between  5  and  15. 

ber  of  persons  between  the  ages  of  3  4.  Act  not  to  exclude  scholars  under  5, 
and  15,  instead  of  4  and  IG.  or  over  15,  from  schools. 

2.  Income  of  school   fund  to  be  appor-  5.  Repeal  of  inconsistent  provisions, 
tioned  accordingly.                                     j  6.  When  to  take  effect. 

3.  What  sum  to  be  raised  on  each  person  I 

Sect.  1.  The  school  committees  of  the  several  cities  and 
towns,  instead  of  ascertaining  the  number  of  persons  between 
the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen  years  belonging  to  such  cities 
and  towns  respectively,  as  required  by  the  second  section  of 
the  act  of  which  this  is  an  amendment,  approved  by  the  Gov- 
ernor, on  the  fifteenth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-six,  shall  ascertain  the  number  of  per- 
sons between  the  ages  of  five  and  fifteen  years,  and  shall  alter 
the  form  of  the  certificates,  required  from  them  by  the  said 
section,  accordingly. 

Sect,  2.  The  income  of  the  Massachusetts  School  Fund 
shall  hereafter  be  apportioned  to  the  several  cities  and  towns  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  persons  therein,  between  the  ages  of 
five  and  fifteen,  instead  of  four  and  sixteen,  as  required  by  the 
fifth  section  of  the  aforesaid  act  of  the  fifteenth  of  April,  in  the 
year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-six. 

Sect.  3.  The  sum  required  to  be  raised  by  any  city  or 
town,  as  one  of  the  conditions  of  receiving  its  portion  of  the 
income  of  the  school  fund,  shall  be,  at  least,  equal  to  one  dol- 


208 

lar  and  fifty  cents,  instead  of  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents, 
as  required  by  said  act,  of  which  this  is  an  amendment,  for 
each  person  between  the  ages  of  five  and  fifteen  years  belong- 
ing to  said  city  or  town. 

Sect.  4.  Nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall  be  considered 
as  prohibiting  the  attendance  upon  the  schools  of  scholars 
under  five  or  over  fifteen  years  of  age. 

Sect.  5.  All  acts,  and  parts  of  acts,  and  all  resolves,  and 
parts  of  resolves,  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  act, 
are  hereby  repealed. 

Sect.  6.  This  act  shall  take  effect  on  and  after  the  first 
day  of  May,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  for- 
ty-nine.    [April  18,  1849.] 


CHAPTER   70. 

RESOLVE  CONCERNING  BARNARd's  SCHOOL  ARCHITECTURE. 

One  copy  for  each  town. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth  be 
directed  to  furnish,  to  the  clerk  of  each  town  in  the  State,  one 
copy  of  a  work  entitled  "  School  Architecture  for  the  Improve- 
ment of  Schoolhouses,"  by  Henry  Barnard,  commissioner  of 
Public  Schools  in  the  state  of  Rhode  Island  :  provided,  that 
the  expense  thereof  do  not  exceed  one  dollar  for  each  copy  so 
delivered ;  the  said  amount  to  be  deducted  from  the  proceeds 
of  public  lands,  or  the  school  fund,  according  to  the  provisions 
of  the  act  of  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty- 
six,  chapter  two  hundred  and  nineteen,  entitled  "  An  act  to 
designate  the  fund  for  payment  of  the  salary  of  the  land  agent, 
and  of  appropriations  for  educational  purposes  :"  and  that  war- 
rants be  drawn  accordingly.      [April  20,  1849.] 


CHAPTER    75. 

RESOLVE      ON     THE    PETITION    OF    THE    MASSACHUSETTS    TEACHERs' 

ASSOCIATION. 

Grant  of  ^150  annually,  for  five  years. 

Resolved,  That  there  be  paid,  annually,  in  the  month  of 
August,  for  the  term  of  five  successive  years,  to  the  president 
or  treasurer  of  the  Massachusetts  Teachers'  Association,  the 
sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  to  be  applied  to  the  pur- 
poses of  said  association :  the  said  amount  to  be  deducted 
from  the  proceeds  of  public  lands,  or  the  school  fund,  accord- 
ing to  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  forty-six,  chapter  two  hundred  and  nineteen,  en- 


209 

titled  "  An  act  to  designate  the  fund  for  the  payment  of  the 
salary  of  the  land  agent,  and  of  appropriations  for  educational 
purposes,"  and  that  warrants  be  drawn  accordingly,  [April 
20,  1849.]  

CHAPTER   89. 

RESOLVE    CONCERNING    STATE    NORMAL    SCHOOLS. 

Grant  of  ^7000,  annually,  for  three  years. 

Resolved,  That  the  sum  of  seven  thousand  dollars,  annually, 
for  three  years,  be  appropriated  to  the  support  of  State  Normal 
Schools,  under  the  direction  of  the  Board  of  Education ;  the 
said  amount  to  be  deducted  from  the  proceeds  of  public  lands, 
or  the  school  fund,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  act  of 
the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-six,  chapter 
two  hundred  and  nineteen,  entitled  "  An  act  to  designate  the 
fund  for  the  payment  of  the  salary  of  the  land  agent,  and  of 
appropriations  for  educational  purposes  ;"  and  his  excellency 
the  Governor,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Coun- 
cil, is  authorized  to  draw  his  warrant  accordingly.  [April  25, 
1849.]  

CHAPTER  144. 

AN  ACT  CONCERNING  SCHOOL  COMMITTEES. 

Where  school  committees  become  reduced  in  number,  remaining  members  empowered  to 

make  returns. 

Whenever,  in  consequence  of  vacancies  occurring  in  the 
school  committee  of  any  city  or  town  in  this  Commonwealth, 
after  the  date  of  the  warrant  for  the  annual  town  meeting  for 
the  election  of  their  successors,  or  the  inability,  arising  after  the 
said  date,  of  any  of  the  members  of  said  committee  to  act,  such 
committee  shall  be  reduced  to  a  minority  of  its  original  num- 
ber, the  remaining  members  of  said  committee  shall  be  compe- 
tent to  make  the  returns  required  to  be  made  and  transmitted 
to  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth ;  and  such 
returns  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  certificate  of  the  person  or 
persons  so  making  them,  setting  forth  the  existence  of  such 
vacancies  or  disabilities,  and  the  time  when  the  same  arose. 
[April  26,  1849.]  

CHAPTER  155. 

AN    ACT    RELATING    TO    THE    STATE    LIBRARY. 


Section 

3.  Librarian  to  make  report,  annually,  to 
the  Legislature. 


Section 

\.  Secretary  of  Board  of  Education  to  be 

librarian. 
2.  Laws,  &c.,  to  be  placed  in  the  library. 

Sect.  1.     The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education  shall  be 
the  librarian  of  the  State  Library,  with  power  to  appoint  an  as- 
27 


210 

sistant,  who  shall  also  act,  when  necessary,  as  clerk  of  the 
Board. 

Sect.  2.  All  laws,  documents,  and  other  publications  be- 
longing to  the  State,  and  for  public  use,  shall  be  deposited  in 
the  library,  which  shall  be  kept  open  every  day  in  the  year, 
except  Sundays  and  the  usual  public  holidays. 

Sect.  3.  Said  librarian  shall  report  to  the  Legislatiu-e,  an- 
nually, in  the  month  of  January,  the  receipts  and  expenditures 
on  account  of  the  library,  with  a  list  of  all  books,  maps,  and 
charts,  acquired  since  the  last  report,  specifying  those  obtained 
by  exchange,  donation,  or  purchase  ;  and  those,  if  any,  which 
have  been  lost  or  are  missing ;  and  make  such  suggestions  in 
relation  to  the  library  as  may  lead  to  its  improvement.  [April 
28,  1849.] 


CHAPTER  206. 

AN    ACT    IN    RELATION    TO    SCHOOL    DISTRICTS. 

Reslriclion  as  to  re-dislricting. 

No  town  shall  be  districted  anew,  for  school  purposes,  so  as 
to  change  the  taxation  of  lands  of  proprietors  into  districts 
using  different  schoolhouses,  oftener  than  once  in  ten  years. 
[May  2,  1849.] 


CHAPTER  209. 

AN    ACT    CONCERNING    SCHOOL    REGISTERS. 

Section  I  Section 

1.  V\Tio  to  prescribe  form  of.     Duty  of  !2.  Stat.  1845,  ch.  157,  repealed, 

teachers  in  regard  to.  | 

Sect.  1.  Instead  of  the  school  registers,  in  book  form,  now 
transmitted  to  school  committees,  the  Secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Education  is  hereby  required  to  transmit  registers  in  such 
form  as  the  said  Board  shall  prescribe  ;  and  no  school  teacher 
shall  be  entitled  to  receive  payment  for  his  or  her  services,  un- 
til the  register  of  his  or  her  school,  properly  filled  up  and  com- 
pleted, shall  be  deposited  with  the  school  committee,  or  with 
such  person  as  they  may  designate  to  receive  it. 

Sect.  2.  The  act  entitled  an  act  relating  to  Common 
Schools,  passed  on  the  eighteenth  day  of  March,  in  the  year 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-five,  is  hereby  repealed. 
[May  2,  1849.] 


211 


CHAPTER   215. 

AN     ACT     IN     RELATION     TO     THE      OFFICE    OF    THE    SECRETARY     OF 
THE    BOARD    OF    EDUCATION. 

Section  |  Section 

1.  General  duties  of  Secretary  of  Board  3.  Travelling  and    other    necessary  cx- 
of  Education.  penses. 

2.  Salary.  I 

Sect.  1.  The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education,  in 
addition  to  the  duties  imposed  on  him  by  law  as  recording  and 
corresponding  secretary  of  the  said  Board,  and  as  State  libra- 
rian, shall  obtain  and  diffuse  information  relating  to  the  Public 
Schools  of  the  Commonwealth  ;  suggest  to  said  Board  and  to 
the  General  Court  improvements  in  the  present  system  of 
Common  Schools ;  visit,  as  often  as  his  other  duties  will  per- 
mit, different  parts  of  the  Commonwealth  for  the  purpose  of 
arousing  and  guiding  public  sentiment  in  relation  to  the  prac- 
tical interests  of  education ;  collect  in  his  office  such  school 
books,  apparatus,  maps,  and  charts,  as  can  be  obtained  without 
expense  to  the  Commonwealth,  and  also  to  purchase,  at  an 
expense  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars  a  year,  rare  and  valuable 
works  on  education  for  the  use  of  the  said  Board,  and  for  the 
benefit  of  teachers,  authors,  and  others,  who  wish  to  consult 
them ;  receive  and  arrange,  in  his  office,  the  reports,  returns, 
and  registers  of  the"  Common  Schools,  now  and  hereafter  in 
the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  receive, 
preserve,  or  distribute  the  state  documents  in  relation  to  the 
Common  School  system. 

Sect.  2.  The  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education  shall 
receive  an  annual  salary  of  sixteen  hundred  dollars,  to  be 
paid  in  quarterly  payments  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Com- 
monwealth. 

Sect.  3.  All  necessary  travelling  expenses,  incurred  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education  in  the  performance  of 
his  official  duties,  after  being  approved  by  the  said  Board,  shall 
be  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Commonwealth ;  and  all 
postages  and  other  necessary  expenses,  arising  in  the  office  of 
the  said  Secretary,  shall  be  paid  in  the  same  manner  as  those 
of  the  other  departments  of  the  government.     [May  2,  1849.] 


212 


CHAPTER   220. 

AN    ACT     CONCERNING     THE     EMPLOYMENT    OF    CHILDREN    IN    MANU- 
FACTURING   ESTABLISHMENTS, 

.Section  I  Section 

1.  Stat.  183G,ch.  245,§  1,  how  construed  :  2.  Stat.  1842,  ch.  60,  ^  2,  and  Stat.  1836,, 

said   statute   and    present   act  not    to  ch.  243,  §  2,  repealed, 

apply  to   children   coming  into  State,  3.  Penalt\'  for  violation  of  act. 

until  after  si.\  mouths'  residence.  j 

Sect.  1.  The  meaning  of  the  first  section  of  the  act  passed 
on  the  sixteenth  day  of  April,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-six,  entitled  "  An  act  to  provide  for  the 
better  instruction  of  youth  employed  in  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments," is  hereby  declared  to  be,  that  no  child  under  the 
age  of  fifteen  years  shall  be  employed  in  any  manufacturing 
establishment,  unless  such  child  shall  have  attended  some 
public  or  private  day  school,  where  instruction  is  given  by  a 
teacher  qualified  according  to  the  first  section  of  the  twenty- 
third  chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes,  at  least  one  term  of 
eleven  weeks  of  the  twelve  months  next  preceding  the  time  of 
such  employment,  and  for  the  same  period  during  any  and 
every  twelve  months  in  which  such  child  shall  be  so  employed  ; 
but  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  of  the  act  above  named, 
shall  not  apply  to  any  child  who  shall  have  removed  into  this 
Commonwealth  from  any  other  state  or  country,  until  such 
child  shall  have  resided  six  months  within  this  Commonwealth. 

Sect.  2.  The  second  section  of  the  act  passed  on  the  third 
day  of  March,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
forty-two,  entitled  "  An  act  concerning  the  employment  of 
children  in  manufacturing  establishments,"  and  the  second 
section  of  the  act  passed  April  sixteenth,  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty-six,  entitled  "  An  act  to  provide  for  the  better  instruction 
of  youth  employed  in  manufacturing  establishments."  are  here- 
by repealed. 

Sect.  3.  The  owner,  agent,  or  superintendent  of  any  man- 
ufacturing establishment,  who  shall  employ  any  child  in  such 
establishment  contrary  to  the  provision  of  this  act,  shall  forfeit 
a  sum  not  exceeding  fifty  dollars  for  each  offence,  to  be  recov- 
ered by  indictment,  to  the  use  of  Common  Schools  in  the 
towns  respectively,  where  said  establishment  may  be  situated. 
[May  2,  1849.] 


APPENDIX. 


The  Law  requires  that  Tables,  like  the  following,  should  be 
prepared  and  published,  annually,  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Education.  (See  ante,  pp.  119-121.)  As  the  Massachusetts 
School  system  cannot  be  adequately  understood  without  the  ex- 
planations furnished  by  these  Tables ;  and,  as  those  of  the  latest 
date  will  give  the  best  view  of  the  present  condition  of  the 
system,  I  have  requested  the  present  Secretary  of  the  Board  to 
allow  me  to  use  those  of  the  current  year,  in  preference  to  re- 
printing those  of  1846  which  accompanied  the  Tenth  Annual 
Report.  The  Tables  of  the  present  year,  being  later,  are  more 
valuable,  and  being  now  in  type,  for  another  purpose,  can  be 
printed  more  cheaply.  To  the  present  Secretary,  in  whose  office, 
and  under  whose  direction,  they  have  been  prepared,  belong  the 
whole  merit  and  responsibility  of  them. 

HORACE  MANN. 


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SCHOOL  RETURNS— 1848-49. 


XV 


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Norwich, 

Pelham, 

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South  Hadley, 

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Ware, 

Westhampton, 

Williamsburg, 

Wortliington, 

1 

SCHOOL  RETURNS— 1848-49. 


xvii 


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o              o                  o          »o                  o  o 

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1— 1 

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Greenwich, 

Iladley, 

Hatfield, 

Middlefield, 

Northampton, 

Norwich, 

Pelham, 

Pkiinficld, 

Prescott, 

South  Iladley, 

Southampton, 

Ware, 

Westhampton, 

Williamsburg, 

Wortliington, 

C3 

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HAMPDEN  COUNTY 


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a  o 
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^  CO" 


SCHOOL  RETURNS— 1848-49. 


XIX 


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312  00 

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Blandford, 

Brimfield, 

Chester, 

Chicopoe, 

Granville, 

Holland, 

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Ludlow, 

Monson, 

Montgomery, 

Palmer, 

Russell, 

South  wick,* 

Springfield, 

Tolland, 

Wales, 

Westfiold, 

W.  Springfield, 

Wilbraham, 

o 

XX 


FRANKLIN  COUNTY 


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AGGREGATE    LENGTH    OF 
THE    SCHOOLS. 

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in 

Average  attend- 
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Schools. 

a 

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Ashfield, 

Bemardston, 

Buckland, 

Charlemont, 

Coleraine, 

Conway, 

Deerfield, 

l-'rving, 

(ireenfield, 

liawley, 

Heatli, 

Leverett, 

Leyden, 

Monroe, 

Montague, 

New  Salem, 

Nortlifield, 

Orange, 

Rowe, 

Shelburne, 

Shutesbury, 

Sunderland, 

Warwick, 

Wendell, 

Whately, 

1 

SCHOOL  RETURNS— 1848-49. 


XXI 


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Ci 
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$56  69 
43  00 
54  88 

24  00 

12  44 

170  00 

24  00 
12  00 

16  80 

30  00 
41  40 

1— 1 

spnnj  ITJ307  jo  :)unorav 

#716  67 
914  89 

400  00 

207  33 

2877  00 

400  00 
200  00 

280  00 

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Monterey,* 

Mt.  Washington, 

New  Ashford, 

N.  Marlborough, 

Otis, 

Peru, 

Pittsficld, 

Richmond, 

Sandisfield, 

SCHOOL  RETURNS— 1848-49. 


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SCHOOL  RETURNS— 1848-49. 


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SCHOOL  RETURNS— 1848-49. 


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Franklin, 

Medfiekl, 

Medway, 

Milton, 

Needham, 

Quincy, 

Randolph, 

Roxbury, 

Sharon, 

Stoughton, 

Walpole, 

Weymouth, 

Wrentham, 

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Attleborough, 

Berkley, 

Dartnioutli, 

Dighton, 

Easton, 

Fairhaven, 

Fall  River, 

Freeto^Ti, 

Mansfield, 

New  Bedford, 

Norton, 

Pa^vtucket, 

Raynliam, 

Reliobotli, 

Seekonk, 

Somerset, 

Swanzey, 

Taunton, 

Westport, 

1 

SCHOOL  RETURNS— 1848-49. 


XXIX 


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1 

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SCHOOL  RETURNS— 1848-49. 


XXXIU 


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■* 

Vj 

CO 

3 

cv  o  o 

t>r 

•3 

'-C  fiC'  CO 

o 

;> 

IJJTCO 

1—1 

^ 

I— 1 

c!     . 

CT  oo 

00 

3  ta 

OCO  (7» 

i5 

O..S 

1-.  l^  o 

25 

S- 

I— 1  ^H 

CO 

w 
fc 

^ 

O 

^5    '- 

^ 

o 
Eh 

,x:i3-- 

OHEh 

s 


SCHOOL  RETURNS— 1848-49. 


XXXV 


B 

O 
O 

H 
M 
o 


CO 

1— I 

o 
o 

o 


XXXVl 


RECAPITULATION. 


o 


< 
J 

D 


•ipnora 

jad    pjBoq   JO 

m        anfSA  aSejaAy 

OOOl^JSCSLCti-HCOCJCOlCOO 
OOl^Oii-lOOOOOOi-iOt^COT)< 

-!fC3  3ii>oj>cocooiaoaoi>t>.ao 

1—4                                                                                                    I— 1 

0 
0 

Oi 

,2              pjBoq  JO  an 

"^       1  -JBA  Saipnpai 

'•q^in  jad  ppid 

BaSiiii  aSBJaiv 

CO 

No.  of  Teach 
era,  includ- 
ing Summer 
and  Winter 
terms. 

•saiBraaj 

ao»r;ojmrHcricowo:cwCir-i»o 

•saiBK 

co<:OT><^(r»coi-iQO«5ciaocO'-irH 

T-H(rJCO-<*i-H>Hr-lr-li-li-lrHi-l 

CO 

i 

Average 

length  of  the 

School.s. 

Mos.  Days. 

S^JI^S^iSg^^S^S^J^'^S 

a 

i> 

'looqag  pn^HB  oq.ii 
aSe  JO  siV3.i  Qi  jbao  -Ofj 

OQOOJr^COWO'-H'^'^OOO-^CC 

1— 1 

■(ooqag  pnaj 
-qB  oqM  aSe  jo  sjBa.i 
f  japan  suosaad  jo  -on 

'  c^  irt  r^  ri  CT  (Ti  c^  >-i  c^  (?j  CT 

CO 
CO 

■saijnnoo  aqj  ui 
a38  JO  gaua.t  91^  pan  ^ 
uaaM^aq  suosaad  jo  -on 

t^cocoo>C5i:oknc^oo'*ao(NCO'* 

m  cr  c? 'CT  Qo"  ^  QD  of  0  00"  CO  cT  i-T  i-H^ 

-CO 

Oi 

Average  attendance  iu 
all  the  Schools. 

e 

d 
Ml 

OOOOCiCDO'-H'^'-IQOr-lOSlCt^ 
CO  0  -  -  >.t  r-t  l^  Ci  (TJ  Ci  CO  ^  0  (M 
i^  C  X  X   0»  '^  m  C^O_GO  0  l^^'*  0^ 

ic  -J"  :^^  —  v:rt>rcc'~t>r^"o"od~'>o      i-T 

rH  ^  Oi  OJ                            rH  1— 1 

S^f 

rH 

a 
a 

tn 
a 

M 

T-Hocor^ojOiooocowcoi^ooco 

COOinCOrHOf-^rtOOrH-^lOjN.O 
00  l>.^0  CO  r-J^rH  rH  CO  rH_OJ^t>^C0  CO  O 

1— 1  rH  C*  1—1                                T— ( 

rH 

C  J3 

a 

a 

iftt^i-i-^QOTftcocooiocooinco 

rHOrtCO'*<^CO-*COOCiCOi— 100 

GC^rH.aoao-^rHcocoaj  co  o_«  co 

0~  ^"co'tCtCo  GO  ©■■^'-rfrHoT       i-T 

Oi 

r-l 
r-T 
rH 

u 

3 

OOOrftM^Tfi-HCTOC^C^CO^D 

i^  CI  c*  1-1  00  00  ^  m-rt<  t^  L':  <:c  i.o  rH 
00  l>i.O  0  m  rH  i^^CO^-^CO -^c^j^o  -^ 

0  r-rrH"(rrcd~aro  oTco  co^oirT     rn 

OJCT  CO(rt                                rH  rHrH 

rH 

■Biooqas  onqnj  jo  -on 

OJl^QDCOCCOOCO«2  00COOOiO 

^co§d?l^^^woioJi^'~^'~' 

^ 
^ 

1 

9 
1 

OOOOOr-lOi^O'^OOOO 

ooooot^oi>.oaooooo 

O-fOJCCrHCO^Ol^l-OCiCOCO-^ 
OOXr-^WOfCiOJff^OOrHOO-^J^ 

0  o>  0  CO  CO  ■^  0  c;  "^^'O  t-  :C'  CO  CO 
0  0  f^f  Tt  00  x"  xT  "c"  of  co~ -t^ 'O  t>r Tt~ 
0  -H  —  0  c:  X  -f^  -1^  o>  -  -  c^j  0  i^ 

0  r^^U^X  C^rH^l.O  '.':   l.'t^-r   'C^^X  rH_0^ 

0  — ^r>rcrt>o  cr  cJ  i^o'cro'-rf  rH  CO 

rH  CO  CO  C<         r-i                rH  rH  rH 

rH 

-H 

CO 

CO 

x" 

00_ 

Populatiou. 

cor>.r-cot^':o(Moo>r5cocixc^ 

l^  X   rH  rH  C:  'O  rH  GO  -^  ^2  f^  0  »0  rH 

l>.^  cr^  'O,  CO^  X^  CO  X^  'O  rH^  y-l  CO^  (Tl,  c-^  o_ 

ift 't  co"  ic  cT  iC  00 -H  CO  0  t>r  of  CO  cT 
OiOiocicococ^-^inco-^co 

rH 

0 
0 

•snan^ai  apcra  aAsq 
qaiqii  gnivo-)  jo  jaquin^i 

COCiOOl^CQOOOrHC^JOSrHCOCOrH 
C^rtOC^rHOJCOCMrHOJr-l 

1-H 

CO 

0 
U 

M 

g 

Suffolk, 

Essex, 

Middlesex, 

Worcester, 

Hampshire, 

Hampden, 

Franklin, 

Berkshire, 

Norfolk, 

Bristol, 

Plymouth, 

Barnstable, 

Dukes  County, 

Nantucket, 

3" 

0 

RECAPITULATION. 


XXXVll 


A  GRADUATED  TABLE,  &c. 

In  preparing  the  following  Table,  the  Income  of  the  Surplus  Revenue,  when- 
ever appropriated  for  the  support  of  the  Public  Schools,  has  been  added  to  the 
amount  of  money  granted  by  the  town  and  raised  by  a  direct  tax ; — the  former 
being  as  really  a  contribution  as  the  latter,  for  the  education  of  the  children,  and, 
like  the  latter,  being  expended  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

The  amount  voluntarily  contributed  for  board  and  fuel  is  not  included  in  the 
estimate.  The  considerations  pertaining  to  this  item  fall  under  a  different  head. 
These  contributions  depend  upon  the  will  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  dis- 
tricts ;  and,  of  course,  tliey  fluctuate  with  that  will.  While,  in  some  districts, 
much  may  be  contributed, — in  others,  there  will  be  little ;  and,  in  others,  nothing. 
So,  too,  these  contributions  vary  greatly,  from  year  to  year,  in  the  same  district 
Now,  as  it  is  obvious  that  the  only  sure  and  permanent  reliance  of  all  the  children 
in  the  town,  for  an  education,  is  upon  the  town  appropriations,  it  follows,  that  those 
modes  of  sustaining  the  schools  which  do  not  combine  permanence  and  universality 
of  advantages,  are  greatly  inferior  in  value.  Still,  however,  such  voluntary  con- 
tributions modify  the  town's  apparent  liberality ;  and  they  are  therefore  exhibited 
in  the  Table.  They  show  what  amount  of  money  was  expended,  in  the  town,  for 
Public  Schools ;  but  they  do  not  show  whether  the  children  of  all,  or  of  only  a 
few  of  the  districts,  participated  in  its  benefits. 

Neither  is  the  Income  from  Local  Funds  included  in  the  estimate.  These  are 
usually  the  proceeds  of  donations  which  were  not  made  for  the  purpose  of  reliev- 
ing the  towns  from  a  pecuniary  burden,  but  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  tlie 
educational  advantages  of  the  children ; — not  to  be  subtracted  from,  but  added  to, 
what  the  towns  would  otherwise  grant.  No  mention,  therefore,  is  made,  in  this 
connection,  of  the  Income  from  Local  Funds. 

Against  the  name  of  each  town,  at  its  left  hand,  is  set,  not  only  the  No.  which 
indicates  its  relative  liberality,  as  compared  Avith  other  towns  in  the  State,  in 
raising  money  for  the  support  of  schools  for  the  year  1848-9,  but  also  the  No. 
which  indicated  its  relative  standing  for  the  preceding  year, — that  of  1847-8.  It 
may  thus  be  seen  at  a  glance,  in  regard  to  any  town,  whether  it  has  risen  or  fallen 
in  tlie  scale  of  merit,  since  the  last  year.  For  instance,  Boston,  which  was  No.  2, 
last  year,  is  No.  1,  this  year;  and  Brookline,  which  was  No.  1,  last  year,  is  No.  2, 
this  year ;  and  so  of  the  rest 


A  GRADUATED  TABLE, 

Sfioiving  the  Comparative  Amount  of  money  appropriated,  by  the  different  toitms  in 
the  State,  for  the  education  of  each  child  in  the  town  bettveen  the  ages  of  4  and 
16  years. 


■a  J3^  i 

=*>  X 

3  'C 

a  CD 

X'° 

00 

iigt 

pi- 

•PI 

'5.  ci«  • 

III 

XI  a 

r-t 

CO 
00 

TOWNS. 

lrl 

3  ™  ■= 

Us 

TOTAL. 

^s"^ 

§1 

1 

<  S  o. 

MMta 

2 

1 

BOSTON, 

#10  65.3 

#232,800  00 

. 

. 

21,853 

_ 

1 

2 

Brookliiie, 

7  39 

3,200  00 

_ 

_ 

4.33 

. 

19 

3 

Charlestown, 

6  79 

24,955  00 

_ 

_ 

3675 

. 

3 

4 

SomeiTille, 

6  46.8 

3,519  00 

_ 

_ 

544 

_ 

15 

5 

W.  Cambridge, 

6  26.9 

2,683  00 

. 

. 

428 

. 

26 

6 

Lexington, 

6  12.7 

2,500  00 

_ 

_ 

408 

_ 

25 

7 

Boxborough, 

5  97 

400  00 

_ 

. 

67 

_ 

4 

8 

Dedham, 

5  71.4 

5,000  00 

. 

_ 

875 

_ 

14 

9 

North  Chelsea, 

5  68.2 

1,000  00 

. 

_ 

176 

_ 

16 

10 

Cambridge, 

5  49.7 

18,249  53 

_ 

_ 

3320 

- 

11 

11 

Brighton, 

5  44.4 

2,700  00 

_ 

_ 

496 

_ 

13 

12 

Roxbury, 

5  43.8 

19,877  27 

_ 

. 

3655 

_ 

23 

13 

Dorchester, 

5  42.6 

9,002  00 

. 

_ 

1659 

_ 

9 

14 

Concord, 

5  37.6 

2,500  00 

_ 

465 

_ 

5 

15 

Medford, 

5  17.2 

3,600  00 

_ 

_ 

696 

_ 

8 

16 

Nantucket, 

5  16.6 

9,267  06 

. 

_ 

1794 

_ 

6 

17 

Clielsea, 

5  09 

6,250  00 

_ 

1228 

_ 

7 

18 

Watertown, 

4  96.5 

2,800  00 

_ 

564 

_ 

10 

19 

Lowell, 

4  82.6 

30,492  62 

. 

_ 

6318 

_ 

30 

20 

Kingston, 

4  77.6 

1,600  00 

_ 

335 

_ 

20 

21 

Dover, 

4  69.2 

500  00 

#63  00 

#563  00 

120 

_ 

17 

22 

New  Braintree, 

4  67.8 

800  00 

_ 

171 

_ 

31 

23 

Plymouth, 

4  59.9 

7,000  00 

_ 

1522 

#548  00 

24 

24 

Waltham, 

4  54 

3,500  00 

_ 

771 

. 

49 

25 

Springfield, 

4  48.7 

9,630  00 

_ 

_ 

2146 

. 

29 

26 

New  Bedford, 

4  42 

16,600  00 

_ 

3755 

_ 

27 

Chicopee,* 

4  35.8 

7,400  00 

_ 

1698 

_ 

12 

28 

Milton, 

4  35.7 

2,000  00 

. 

459 

_ 

27 

29 

Salem, 

4  28.2 

18,613  75 

_ 

4347 

_ 

32 

30 

Newburyport, 

4  20.9 

8,300  00 

_ 

1972 

_ 

38 

31 

Fairhaven, 

4  14.9 

5,000  00 

_ 

1205 

125  00 

18 

32 

Worcester, 

4  13.8 

13,300  00 

_ 

3214 

50  00 

21 

33 

Weston, 

4  10.2 

1,050  00 

256 

_ 

40 

34 

Hatfield, 

4  03.6 

750  00 

113  75 

863  75 

214 

. 

48 

35 

Carlisle, 

4  03.2 

500  00 

124 

_ 

22 

36 

South  Reading, 

4  02.2 

1,850  00 

. 

460 

_ 

37 

37 

Littleton, 

4  01.7 

900  00 

. 

224 

_ 

87 

38 

Lancaster, 

3  99 

3,200  00 

_ 

802 

_ 

39 

39 

Northampton, 

3  89.8 

4,600  00 

. 

_ 

1180 

150  00 

35 

40 

Billerica, 

3  88.6 

1,500  00 

. 

386 

_ 

46 

41 

Maiden, 

3  82.2 

3,000  00 

. 

_ 

785 

_ 

51 

42 

Bolton, 

3  76.4 

1,091  65 

. 

_ 

290 

_ 

53 

43 

Montgomery, 

3  75 

300  00 

_ 

_ 

80 

181  00 

34 

44 

Sherburne, 

3  74.5 

925  00 

- 

- 

247 

- 

A  newly-incorporated  town. 


xl 


GRADUATED  TABLE. 


■g-S^  2=    1 

^k 

5'= 

C2 

a;  r-t 

■2  ^ 

^ 

iropriat 
s  for  ea 
Btween 
rs  ofaj 

III 

^"1 

1^. 

li 

.a 

u 

i 

TOWNS. 

a52:S 

s  ,^  o 
o  S  ^ 

?   X   f^ 

TOTAL. 

O 

o 

3  >>J3  C 

3  p  o 

a  SS 

°    O   i, 

5  -S  s 

f^ 

PK 

CK^C   o   =! 

<  S  s. 

h-iK  rt 

55  .Q  >. 

•<;  3<S 

78 

45 

Longmeadow, 

$3  73.1 

$1250  00 

_ 

_ 

335 

#142  00 

61 

46 

Tyngsborough, 

3  67 

800  00 

- 

- 

218 

43  67 

47 

47 

Paxton, 

3  61.4 

600  00 

- 

- 

166 

- 

83 

48 

Barnstable, 

3  60.1 

4400  00 

- 

- 

1222 

- 

103 

49 

Dunstable, 

3  59.7 

500  00 

- 

- 

139 

30  00 

50 

50 

Hingham, 

3  58.4 

3097  05 

- 

- 

864 

- 

99 

51 

Harvard, 

3  52.8 

1400  00 

$•36  00 

p436  00 

407 

- 

64 

52 

VValpole, 

3  52.1 

1500  00 

- 

- 

426 

- 

149 

53 

Newton, 

3  49 

4000  00 

- 

- 

1146 

. 

100 

54 

Essex, 

3  48.5 

1300  00 

_ 

- 

373 

_ 

55     55 

La^vTence, 

3  44.4 

3750  00 

. 

- 

1089 

- 

88     56  1 

Bridgewater, 

3  44.2 

2000  00 

_ 

- 

581 

- 

36 

57 

Wayland, 

3  37,1 

900  00 

. 

- 

267 

- 

54 

58 

Hull, 

3  33.3 

200  00 

. 

- 

60 

- 

117 

59 

Haverhill, 

3  33.2 

4000  00 

521  16 

4521  16 

1357 

_ 

52 

60 

Danvers, 

3  30.4 

5451  00 

553  20 

6004  20 

1817 

- 

28 

61 

Duxbury, 

3  28.6 

2100  00 

200  00 

2300  00 

700 

- 

62 

62 

Middleborough, 

3  28.4 

4000  00 

- 

- 

1218 

793  00 

43 

63 

Bedford, 

3  26.5 

800  00 

_ 

- 

245 

. 

113 

64 

Boxford, 

3  25.5 

700  00 

61  77 

761  77 

234 

- 

82 

65 

Shirley, 

3  23.7 

780  00 

_ 

- 

241 

- 

57 

66 

Provincetown, 

3  22.5 

2000  00 

_ 

- 

617 

. 

135 

67 

Ashby, 

3  22 

900  00 

50  00 

950  00 

295 

- 

93 

68 

Lynn, 

3  21.9 

10000  00 

_ 

3107 

. 

41 

69 

Heath, 

3  21.4 

810  00 

_ 

- 

252 

310  00 

70 

W.  Brookfield,* 

3  21.4 

900  00 

_ 

. 

280 

40  00 

44 

71 

Woburn, 

3  16.8 

3000  00 

_ 

_ 

947 

- 

84 

72 

Harwich, 

3  15.8 

1200  00 

_ 

. 

380 

. 

59 

73 

Framingham, 

3  13.1 

3000  00 

_ 

. 

958 

. 

45 

74 

Sunderland, 

3  12.5 

650  00 

- 

- 

208 

40  00 

75 

75 

Sharon, 

3  07.7 

600  00 

150  86 

750  86 

244 

- 

74 

76 

Methuen, 

3  07.7 

1600  00 

. 

- 

520 

10  00 

91 

77 

Acton, 

3  07.7 

1000  00 

. 

_ 

325 

. 

66 

78 

Reading, 

3  05.8 

2000  00 

_ 

_ 

654 

. 

60 

79 

Cohasset, 

3  04.6 

1200  00 

_ 

- 

394 

_ 

89 

80 

Bellingham, 

3  04.4 

800  00 

140  63 

940  63 

309 

18  00 

72 

81 

Scituate, 

3  04.3 

3000  00 

_ 

_ 

986 

_ 

42 

82 

Dighton, 

3  03.9 

1000  00 

170  24 

1170  24 

385 

112  00 

102 

83 

Fall  River, 

3  03.5 

8600  00 

_ 

_ 

2834 

. 

80 

84 

Pembroke, 

3  03 

1000  00 

_ 

_ 

330 

_ 

124 

85 

Ludlow, 

3  01.6 

950  00 

_ 

_ 

315 

250  OC 

69 

86 

Wrentham, 

3  01.1 

2100  00 

341  86 

2441  86 

811 

. 

81 

87 

Petersham, 

3  00 

1200  00 

_ 

_ 

400 

54  25 

155 

88 

Saugus, 

3  00 

1083  00 

_ 

_ 

361 

. 

233 

89 

Deerfield, 

3  00 

I5(i3  00 

_ 

_ 

521 

241  OC 

63 

90 

Q,uincy, 

2  99.6 

3400  00 

_ 

_ 

1135 

- 

70 

91 

Tewksbury, 

2  97.9 

700  00 

_ 

_ 

235 

- 

77 

92 

Stoneham, 

2  97.3 

1100  00 

_ 

_ 

370 

. 

76 

93 

Chelmsford, 

2  97 

1500  00 

_ 

_ 

505 

. 

65 

94 

Wilmington, 

2  94.8 

625  00 

_ 

. 

212 

. 

85 

95 

Canton, 

2  94.1 

1600  00 

_ 

. 

544 

150  OC 

154 

96 

Sterling, 

2  91.4 

1300  00 

_ 

_ 

446 

. 

201 

97 

Royalston, 

2  89.8 

1200  00 

. 

. 

414 

15  OC 

177 

98 

Westborough, 

2  88.5 

1200  00 

_ 

. 

416 

_ 

152 

99 

W.Bridgewat'r 

2  88.2 

1000  00 

i      ■ 

- 

347 

- 

A  newly-incorporated  town. 


GRADUATED  TABLE. 


xli 


T)  ja^  aj 

&>i. 

D  "B 

C  CD 

1  t3 

.5  S  g  * 

"3.  a.  • 

1^  t3 

•-gi 

c3i 

|<2|  ^ 

S    <!.    § 

2  a 

1^1 

a'2 
o  3 

r-i 

TOWNS. 

ail 

TOTAL. 

"So 

3-8 

u 
o 

O 

n  "  s  -a 

Jss 

ill 

ill 

h 

f» 

tK  ^   o   03 

-a;  £  o. 

mM    t3 

^^  s. 

-5  s5 

56 

100 

Burlington, 

#■2  87.1 

#300  00f58  93 

$•358  93 

125 

. 

67 

101 

Medway, 

2  85.7 

1500  00 

_ 

- 

525 

_ 

143 

102 

Lynnfield, 

2  85.7 

600  00 

- 

- 

210 

_ 

156 

103 

Amesbury, 

2  85.3 

2000  00 

- 

- 

701 

_ 

79 

104 

Foxborough, 

2  85 

1200  00 

- 

- 

421 

_ 

284 

105 

Erving, 

2  83.2 

250  00 

53  00 

303  00 

107 

_ 

71 

106 

Bniintree, 

2  82.1 

2000  00 

. 

- 

709 

_ 

97 

107 

Southborough, 

2  81.7 

800  00 

. 

. 

284 

_ 

146 

108 

Brirafield, 

2  81.7 

1200  00 

- 

. 

426 

$156  00 

33 

109 

Lincoln, 

2  78 

570  00 

_ 

- 

205 

110 

110 

Halifax, 

2  77.8 

500  00 

_ 

_ 

180 

45  00 

144 

111 

Plyinpton, 

2  77.8 

600  00 

- 

. 

216 

250  41 

168 

112 

Wincliendon, 

2  77.3 

1500  00 

. 

_ 

541 

115 

113 

Marshlield, 

2  75.4 

1300  00 

. 

_ 

472 

. 

104 

114 

Lunenburg, 

2  75.2 

900  00 

_ 

. 

327 

. 

132 

115 

Phillipston, 

2  75.2 

600  00 

. 

. 

218 

_ 

185 

116 

E.  Bridgcwater, 

2  73.7 

1500  00 

- 

- 

548 

_ 

171 

117 

Hanover, 

2  72.7 

1200  00 

_ 

_ 

440 

_ 

94 

118 

N.  Brookfield, 

2  72.1 

1200  00 

. 

. 

441 

. 

90 

119 

Barre, 

2  71.1 

1800  00 

. 

- 

664 

50  00 

179 

120 

Leicester, 

2  70.4 

1460  00 

_ 

_ 

540 

106 

121 

Westlianipton, 

2  69.5 

450  00 

- 

. 

167 

300  00 

158 

122 

Hanson, 

2  69.4 

800  00 

_ 

_ 

297 

_ 

73 

123 

Dracut, 

2  69.2 

1544  12 

213  71 

1757  83 

653 

75  00 

119 

124 

Edgartown, 

2  69.1 

1200  00 

_ 

_ 

446 

304 

125 

Monroe, 

2  68.6 

209  53 

_ 

. 

78 

92  50 

105 

126 

Granby, 

2  67.3 

850  00 

" 

_ 

318 

75  00 

58 

127 

South  Hadley, 

2  66.7 

1000  00 

. 

375 

131  50 

169 

128 

Seekonk, 

2  66.3 

1100  00 

242  00 

1342  00 

504 

500  00 

166 

129 

Chilmark, 

2  64.9 

400  00 

_ 

_ 

151 

. 

134 

130 

Marblehead, 

2  64.6 

4000  00 

_ 

_ 

1512 

_ 

151 

131 

Rowe, 

2  64.5 

500  00 

_ 

_ 

189 

83  00 

123 

132 

Newbury, 

2  63.2 

2700  00 

_ 

_ 

1026 

182 

133 

Abington, 

2  58.8 

3000  00 

_ 

_ 

1159 

_ 

170 

134 

Ipswich, 

2  58.5 

1900  00 

_ 

_ 

735 

18  00 

116 

135 

Hadley, 

2  58.5 

1300  00 

- 

_ 

503 

30  00 

174 

136 

Weymoutli, 

2  58.4 

3000  00 

- 

- 

1161 

_ 

108 

137 

Charlton, 

2  58 

1200  00 

_ 

_ 

465 

160  70 

101 

138 

Ashland, 

2  58 

800  00 

_ 

_ 

310 

125 

139 

Needham, 

2  56.9 

1110  00 

. 

_ 

432 

_ 

68 

140 

Greenfield, 

2  56.4 

1500  00 

_ 

_ 

585 

250  00 

163 

141 

N.  Bridgewater, 

2  55.5 

2000  00 

276  20 

2276  20 

891 

. 

120 

142 

Stow, 

2  54.5 

700  00 

. 

. 

275 

- 

131 

143 

Warren, 

2  53.8 

1000  00 

_ 

_ 

394 

52  00 

98 

144 

Douglas, 

2  53.7 

1200  00 

. 

- 

473 

145 

145 

Wales, 

2  53.1 

400  00 

. 

_ 

158 

46  25 

160 

146 

Nortlifield, 

2  52.6 

1000  00 

6G  00 

1066  00 

422 

150  00 

118 

147 

Warwick, 

2  51.8 

700  00 

_ 

. 

278 

25  00 

109 

148 

Franklin, 

2  50 

1200  00 

_ 

- 

480 

133 

149 

Westford, 

2  49.4 

1000  00 

. 

. 

401 

_ 

206 

150 

Medfield, 

2  48.8 

500  00 

_ 

- 

201 

- 

122 

151 

Middlefield, 

2  48.7 

490  00 

_ 

- 

197 

448  00 

265 

152 

Tolland, 

2  47.7 

322  00 

_ 

_ 

130 

78  00 

130 

153 

Enfield, 

2  47.3 

700  00 

_ 

- 

283 

_ 

138 

154 

Sheffield, 

2  46.7 

1875  00 

- 

- 

760 

500  00 

xlii 


GRADUATED  TABLE. 


00 

§ 

ropriated 
i  for  each 
;tween    4 
[•8.  of  age. 

11 

II 

fa 
o 

00 

oo 

TOWNS 

a  "  " 

TOTAL. 

sis 

ta 

p^ 

roj=  a  a 

■<  S  p. 

i-hK  ce 

>5.o  ii. 

-<!  35 

159 

155 

Somerset, 

#2  45.9 

$<i00  00 

_ 

. 

244 

$64  00 

225 

156 

Princeton, 

2  45.7 

1000  00 

- 

- 

407 

_ 

192 

157 

Oakham, 

2  45.6 

700  00 

- 

- 

285 

20  00 

173 

158 

Auburn, 

2  45.1 

500  00 

- 

- 

204 

_ 

197 

159 

Hamilton, 

2  45.1 

500  00 

- 

- 

204 

_ 

127 

160 

Norton, 

2  44.4 

1200  00 

- 

- 

491 

_ 

167 

161 

West  Newbury, 

2  44.4 

1100  00 

- 

- 

450 

- 

263 

102 

Ashburnliam, 

2  44.4 

1200  00 

_ 

- 

491 

- 

157 

163 

Manchester, 

2  42  7 

1000  00 

- 

- 

412 

- 

129 

164 

Pepperell, 

2  41.5 

1000  00 

- 

- 

414 

- 

148 

165 

Middleton, 

2  41.5 

500  00 

. 

. 

207 

- 

266 

166 

Wareliam, 

2  40.3 

1800  00 

- 

- 

749 

200  00 

137 

167 

Oxford, 

2  40.1 

1400  00 

- 

- 

583 

12  00 

111 

168 

Mendon, 

2  40.1 

600  00 

127  49 

727  49 

303 

- 

147 

169 

Holliston, 

2  40 

1200  00 

- 

- 

500 

- 

194 

170 

Pittsfield, 

2  39.9 

2800  00 

. 

. 

1167 

226  00 

208 

171 

Salisbury, 

2  39.8 

1700  00 

- 

- 

709 

- 

176 

172 

Plainfield, 

2  39.6 

520  00 

- 

- 

217 

241  50 

178 

173 

Dartmoutli, 

2  39 

2500  00 

- 

_ 

1046 

1600  00 

165 

174 

Whately, 

2  39 

050  00 

- 

_ 

272 

80  00 

228 

175 

Taunton, 

2  38.9 

0000  00 

_ 

- 

2512 

50  00 

150 

176 

Northborough, 

2  38 

800  00 

- 

. 

336 

- 

230 

177 

Soutliampton, 

2  35.5 

500  00 

159  31 

659  31 

280 

- 

141 

178 

Groton, 

2  35.3 

1600  00 

. 

. 

680 

- 

126 

179 

Brookfield, 

2  35 

900  00 

_ 

_ 

383 

33  00 

140 

180 

Pawtucket, 

2  34.4 

2400  00 

_ 

_ 

1024 

- 

95 

181 

Greenwich, 

2  33.6 

500  00 

_ 

. 

214 

45  00 

187 

182 

Shelburne, 

2  33.2 

800  00 

- 

_ 

343 

321  50 

142 

183 

Rutland, 

2  33.2 

800  00 

_ 

. 

343 

12  06 

153 

184 

Webster, 

2  33 

1200  00 

- 

_ 

515 

_ 

299 

185 

Mt.  Washington 

2  32.6 

207  47 

. 

- 

115 

123  00 

181 

186 

Gloucester, 

2  32.4 

4500  00 

. 

1936 

_ 

253 

187 

Hubbardston, 

2  32.1 

1200  00 

_ 

_ 

517 

_ 

258 

188 

Easton, 

2  31.8 

1500  00 

- 

_ 

647 

- 

86 

189 

Dudley, 

2  31.2 

800  00 

- 

- 

346 

80  00 

234 

190 

West  Boylston, 

2  30.8 

900  00 

- 

- 

390 

- 

180 

191 

Freetown, 

2  30.4 

1000  00 

- 

. 

434 

- 

204 

192 

Monson, 

2  30.3 

1200  00 

. 

_ 

521 

487  75 

162 

193 

Rowley, 

2  2J).4 

500  00 

- 

- 

218 

- 

214 

194 

Hopkinton, 

2  28.5 

1200  00 

. 

_ 

525 

_ 

191 

195 

Fitchburg, 

2  27.7 

2400  00 

- 

- 

1054 

- 

188 

196 

Stoughton, 

2  20.3 

1700  00 

_ 

- 

751 

- 

164 

197 

Goshen, 

2  25.5 

300  00 

_ 

- 

133 

100  00 

136 

198 

Shrewsbury, 

2  25 

900  00 

_ 

. 

400 

- 

139 

199 

Montague, 

2  25 

852  75 

- 

- 

379 

190  00 

237 

200 

Adams, 

2  25 

3543  75 

. 

- 

1575 

510  75 

223 

201 

Berkley, 

2  24.2 

500  00 

- 

- 

223 

. 

193 

202 

Attleborough, 

2  23.7 

2109  89 

. 

- 

943 

77  50 

96 

203 

Russell, 

2  23.2 

250  00 

_ 

_ 

112 

175  00 

190 

204 

Yarmouth, 

2  2.3.2 

1500  00 

. 

. 

672 

150  00 

184 

205 

Uxbridge, 

2  23 

1200  00 

_ 

. 

538 

. 

207 

206 

Topsfield, 

2  23 

000  00 

. 

269 

24  00 

222 

207 

Peru, 

2  22.2 

300  00 

- 

135 

325  00 

306 

208 

Rockport, 

2  22.2 

2000  00 

. 

900 

_ 

175 

209 

Beverly, 

2  21.2 

3000  00 

- 

- 

1356 

- 

GRADUATED  TABLE. 


xliii 


•^  x:  ^  i 
^  o        to 

.S'  c. 

3  'U 

ceo 

j^  a 

CO 

cs  S  n  =>= 
III! 

3  S.O 

1^. 

s  ^ 

1 
1 

CO 

1 

TOWNS. 

CO    &         «? 
_   O  T3'-' 

a  -^  s  -a 

o  £  ^ 

°   Oi  m 

TOTAL. 

o  aJ  S 

3  2  S 

956 

210 

Cummington, 

#2  20.3 

#824  00 

_ 

. 

374 

#443  00 

211 

211 

Westminster, 

2  19.8 

1200  00 

- 

- 

546 

22  00 

161 

212 

Atliol, 

2  19 

1200  00 

- 

- 

548 

15  00 

296 

213 

Sandisfield, 

2  16.2 

800  00 

- 

- 

370 

630  00 

232 

214 

Mansfield, 

2  16.2 

856  00 

- 

- 

396 

- 

262 

215 

Westfield, 

2  14.6 

2000  00 

. 

. 

932 

154  00 

287 

216 

Cheshire, 

2  14.3 

(!00  00 

- 

- 

280 

400  00 

199 

217 

Amherst, 

2  14.3 

1500  00 

- 

- 

700 

18  00 

189 

218 

Falmouth, 

2  14.1 

1200  00 

320  00 

1520  00 

710 

392  22 

251 

219 

Wilbraham, 

2  13.9 

900  00 

246  70 

1146  70 

536 

606  50 

195 

220 

Becket, 

2  13.5 

600  00 

- 

- 

281 

580  00 

249 

221 

Egremont, 

2  13.4 

525  00 

- 

- 

246 

301  50 

121 

222 

New  Salem, 

2  12.9 

800  00 

- 

- 

371 

110  31 

186 

223 

Sandwich, 

2  12.9 

2308  33 

376  03 

2684  36 

1261 

100  00 

209 

224 

Townsend," 

2  11.9 

1000  00 

- 

- 

472 

55  34 

212 

225 

Georgetown, 

2  11.2 

1000  00 

90  00 

1090  00 

516 

. 

183 

226 

Milford, 

2  10.8 

1400  00 

- 

_ 

664 

. 

235 

227 

Rehobotli, 

2  10.4 

900  00 

139  35 

1039  35 

494 

322  00 

196 

228 

Upton, 

2  10.3 

900  00 

. 

. 

428 

- 

294 

229 

Buckland, 

2  09.8 

600  00 

. 

_ 

286 

35  00 

205 

230 

Northbridge, 

2  08.7 

1000  00 

- 

- 

479 

- 

257 

231 

Natick, 

2  08.3 

1000  00 

- 

- 

480 

- 

246 

232 

Wortliington, 

2  08 

500  00 

146  98 

646  98 

311 

549  75 

218 

233 

Easthampton, 

2  06.4 

450  00 

- 

- 

218 

397  00 

219 

234 

Lenox, 

2  05.9 

700  00 

- 

- 

340 

617  00 

238 

235 

Monterey, 

2  05.4 

325  00 

67  41 

392  41 

191 

407  25 

281 

236 

Brewster, 

2  05.1 

800  00 

. 

- 

390 

118  00 

220 

237 

Berlin, 

2  04.1 

500  00 

. 

. 

245 

260 

238 

Orleans, 

2  04.1 

1100  00 

- 

- 

539 

- 

236 

239 

Gardner, 

2  04 

800  00 

- 

- 

392 

- 

227 

240 

Blackstone, 

2  04 

1787  00 

- 

. 

876 

. 

226 

241 

Eastliam, 

2  03.8 

450  00 

80  00 

530  00 

260 

35  00 

224 

242 

Randolph, 

2  03.3 

2000  00 

- 

- 

984 

- 

243 

243 

Marlborough, 

2  02.2 

1300  00 

- 

- 

643 

- 

288 

244 

New  Marlboro', 

2  02 

700  00 

204  78 

904  78 

448 

644  00 

172 

245 

Leominster, 

2  01.7 

1200  00 

- 

. 

595 

- 

247 

246 

Raynham, 

2  01.5 

800  00 

- 

- 

397 

- 

202 

247 

Spencer, 

2  01.2 

1000  00 

- 

_ 

497 

- 

217 

248 

Belchertown, 

2  00.9 

1400  00 

. 

. 

697 

279  00 

128 

249 

Holland, 

2  00 

200  00 

- 

_ 

100 

94  00 

295 

250 

Leverett, 

2  00 

496  00 

- 

- 

248 

197  50 

114 

251 

Westport, 

2  00 

1500  00 

- 

- 

750 

- 

213 

252 

Grafton, 

1  99.9 

1793  81 

60  00 

1853  81 

927 

- 

215 

253 

Bradford, 

1  99.2 

1424  00 

- 

_ 

715 

- 

261 

254 

Holden, 

1  98.8 

1000  00 

. 

_ 

503 

- 

239 

255 

Charlemont, 

1  98 

()00  00 

. 

- 

303 

225  00 

200 

256 

Ware, 

1  97.8 

1600  00 

. 

. 

809 

39  00 

312 

257 

Williamstown, 

1  97.4 

1500  00 

_ 

- 

760 

- 

277 

258 

Stockbridge, 

1  96.1 

1000  00 

- 

. 

510 

201  00 

267 

259 

Conway, 

1  95.8 

830  00 

- 

. 

424 

573  00 

282 

260 

Chatham, 

1  94.8 

1200  00 

- 

. 

616 

600  00 

203 

261 

Alford, 

1  92.3 

250  00 

. 

- 

130 

203  20 

242 

262 

Templeton, 

1  92.3 

1000  00 

- 

- 

520 

- 

269 

2(33 

Otis, 

1  90.3 

550  00 

- 

- 

289 

517  00 

xliv 


GRADUATED  TABLE. 


06 

1* 

o5 

ropriated 
1  for  each 
itween    4 
:s.  of  age. 

^4                W 

3-n 
trps 

15. 

at 
0  a 

"5 

i 

00 
i-i 

s 

TOWNS. 

a  0  -3^ 

®     0)    X 

§  ^-o 

TOTAL. 

^11 

245 

264 

Millbury, 

$1  90.3|.fl250  00 

. 

- 

657 

- 

221- 

265 

Sudbury, 

1  90.2 

740  00 

- 

- 

389 

- 

279 

266 

Lanesborough, 

1  88.6 

600  00 

. 

- 

318 

#510  00 

229  1  267 

Andover, 

1  88.2 

3500  00 

_ 

- 

1860 

- 

298  ■  268 

Carver, 

1  88.1 

600  00 

- 

- 

319 

290  50 

216     269! 

Swanzey, 

1  87.5 

600  00 

- 

- 

320 

259  50 

301     270 

Florida, 

1  87.5 

300  00 

- 

- 

160 

146  00 

270     271 

Shutesbury, 

1  87.3 

500  00 

. 

- 

267 

40  50 

198  '  272 

Boylston, 

1  87.3 

500  00 

- 

- 

267 

10  50 

255     273 

Dana, 

1  86 

400  00 

_ 

_ 

215 

50  00 

240     274 

Williamsburg, 

1  84.7 

700  00 

- 

- 

379 

311  00 

112     275 

Sutton, 

1  82.8 

1000  00 

_ 

- 

547 

- 

273     276 

Chesterfield, 

1  82.5 

500  00 

- 

- 

274 

308  50 

254 

277 

Gill, 

1  82.2 

400  00 

. 

- 

219 

222  00 

107 

278 

Chester, 

1  81.8 

800  00 

- 

- 

440 

703  00 

244 

279 

Dalton, 

1  81.8 

500  00 

_ 

- 

275 

328  00 

250 

280 

Tisbury, 

1  81.5 

900  00 

. 

- 

496 

- 

292     281 

Wendell, 

1  81 

400  00 

. 

- 

221 

55  00 

259     282 

Coleraine, 

1  79.5 

1000  00 

_ 

_ 

557 

714  00 

241     283 

Wenham, 

1  78.6 

500  00 

- 

- 

280 

- 

276     284 

Bemardston, 

1  78.6 

500  00       - 

- 

280 

351  00 

283     285 

Soutlibridge, 

1  78.3 

1200  00;      - 

- 

673 

- 

248     286 

Windsor, 

1  77.8 

400  00       - 

- 

225 

90  00 

290  ;  287 

Washington, 

1  76.5 

450  00       - 

_ 

255 

407  00 

272     288 

Orange, 

1  75.4 

800  00       - 

_ 

456 

- 

289     289 

Rochester, 

1  74.3 

2000  00 

- 

_ 

1144 

142  00 

264     290 

Sturbridge, 

1  72.4 

1000  00 

- 

- 

580 

68  00 

293     291 

Granville, 

1  71.9 

600  00 

_ 

_ 

349 

365  00 

210     292 

Prescott, 

1  69.1 

350  00 

_ 

- 

207 

140  00 

268     293 

Lee, 

1  67.4 

1180  00 

_ 

705 

400  00 

278     294 

Hawley, 

1  67.2 

500  00 

- 

. 

299 

160  00 

280 

295 

Richmond, 

1  66.6 

300  00 

_ 

- 

180 

357  01 

285 

296 

Tyringham, 

1  64.8 

300  00^      - 

_ 

182 

139  00 

274 

297 

Hinsdale, 

1  56.2 

500  00       - 

_ 

320 

415  00 

308 

298 

Clarksburg, 

1  55 

200  00       - 

_ 

129 

170  00 

291 

2f)9 

Blandford, 

1  51.9 

600  00       - 

_ 

395 

685  00 

286 

300 

Leyden, 

1  50 

300  00       - 

_ 

200 

247  00 

271 

301 

W.  Springfield, 

1  48 

1700  00       - 

_ 

1149 

1200  50 

92 

302 

New  Ashford, 

1  47 

75  00       - 

_ 

51 

61  00 

302 

303 

Palmer, 

1  43.2 

1200  00       - 

_ 

838 

183  00 

303 

304 

Wellfleet, 

1  42.9 

1000  00       - 

_ 

700 

480  00 

252 

305 

Norwich, 

1  40.8 

300  00!      - 

_ 

213 

250  00 

297 

306 

Pelham, 

1  39.8 

400  00       - 

_ 

286 

122  00 

307 

307 

Gt.  Barrington, 

1  38.5 

1100  00 

_ 

_ 

794 

350  00 

300 

308 

Truro, 

1  36.1 

875  00 

_ 

_ 

650 

_ 

305 

309 

Dennis, 

1  31.6 

1200  00 

- 

_ 

912 

_ 

231 

310 

W.Stockbridge, 

1  29.8 

500  00  153  00 

653  00 

426 

373  44 

310 

311 

Hancock, 

1  27.1 

300  00 

_ 

_ 

236 

371  28 

309 

312 

Harwich, 

1  25.8 

1300  00 

_ 

_ 

10.33 

750  00 

275 

313 

Ashfield, 

1  25 

700  00 

_ 

_ 

560 

450  00 

311 

314 

Savoy, 

1  25 

348  75 

_ 

_ 

279 

150  00 

313 

Southwick,* 

- 

- 

*356 

*551  50 

*  No  Returns.    From  last  year's  Abstract. 


GRADUATED  TABLES, 

Sliowmg  the  Comparative  Amount  of  moneij  appropriated  by  the  different  towns  in 
each  of  the  Counties  in  the  State,  for  the  education  of  each  child  in  the  toion, 
between  the  ages  of  4  and  1  (1  years. 

SUFFOLK  COUNTY. 


^ 
§ 

05 

TOWNS. 

appropriated 

wns  for  each 

between   4 

16  yrs.  ofage. 

§-2=5 

me  of  Surplus 
nue  appropri- 
to  schools. 

TOTAL. 

J2  a 

at 
o  a 

t 

fl22^ 

a  is 

°>1 

•  ^  i 

|-si 

& 

& 

S^^^ 

5«l 

!l^2; 

^3.2 

ll  1 

BOSTON, 

#10  05.3 

#232,800  00 

_ 

- 

21,853 

- 

3   2 

North  Chelsea, 

5  G8.2 

1,000  00 

- 

- 

176 

- 

2l  3 

Chelsea, 

5  09 

6,250  00 

- 

- 

1228 

- 

ESSEX  COUNTY. 


1 

1 

SALEM, 

4  28.2 

18,613  75 

4347 

. 

2 

2 

Newburyport, 

4  20.9 

8300  00 

- 

- 

1972 

- 

7 

3 

Essex, 

3  48.5 

1300  00 

- 

- 

373 

4 

4 

Lawrence, 

3  44.4 

3750  00 

- 

- 

1089 

9 

5 

Haverhill, 

3  33.2 

4000  00 

521  16 

4521  16 

1357 

- 

3 

6 

Danvers, 

3  30.4 

5451  00 

553  20 

6004  20 

1817 

- 

8 

7 

Boxford, 

3  25.5 

700  00 

61  77 

761  77 

234 

- 

6 

8 

Lynn, 

3  21.9 

10,000  00 

- 

- 

3107 

- 

5 

9 

Methuen, 

3  07.7 

KJOO  00 

- 

- 

520 

10  00 

14 

10 

Saugus, 

3  00 

1083  00 

- 

- 

361 

- 

12 

11 

Lynnfield, 

2  85.7 

600  00 

- 

- 

210 

- 

16 

12 

Amesbury, 

2  85.3 

2000  00 

- 

- 

701 

- 

11 

13 

Marblehead, 

2  64.6 

4000  00 

- 

- 

1512 

- 

10 

14 

Newbury, 

2  63.2 

2700  00 

- 

- 

1026 

- 

19 

15 

Ipswich, 

2  58.5 

1900  00 

- 

- 

735 

18  00 

22 

16 

Hamilton, 

2  45.1 

500  00 

- 

- 

204 

- 

18 

17 

West  Newbury, 

2  44.4 

1100  00 

- 

- 

450 

- 

15 

18 

Manchester, 

2  42.7 

1000  00 

- 

- 

412 

- 

13 

19 

Middleton, 

2  41.5 

500  00 

- 

- 

207 

- 

24 

20 

Salisbury, 

2  39.8 

1700  00 

- 

- 

709 

- 

21 

21 

Gloucester, 

2  32.4 

4500  00 

- 

- 

1936 

- 

17 

22 

Rowley, 

2  29.4 

500  00 

- 

- 

218 

- 

23 

23 

Topsfield, 

2  23 

600  00 

- 

- 

269 

24  00 

29 

24 

Rockport, 

2  22.2 

2000  00 

- 

- 

900 

- 

20 

25 

Beverly, 

2  21.2 

3000  00 

- 

- 

1356 

- 

25 

26 

Georgetown, 

2  11.2 

1000  00 

90  00 

1090  00 

516 

- 

26 

27 

Bradford, 

1  99.2 

1424  00 

- 

- 

715 

- 

27 

28 

Andover, 

1  88.2 

3500  00 

- 

- 

1860 

- 

28 

29 

Wenham, 

1  78.6 

500  00 

- 

- 

280 

- 

xlvi 


GRADUATED  TABLES. 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY. 


1 

■3^^   a 

-**  A 

3--           1 

=  S 

^2 

5  2      SP 

:^fi 

e-li 

1^ 

00 

T 

03 

£«5  g 

*•    ni    O 

III 

!|l 

~   0     • 

9^ 
8§ 

1 

00 

I-H 
1 

TOWNS. 

O  z>  m 

2  =  e 

111 

TOTAL. 

■si's 

^11 

III 

9 

1 

CHARLESTOWN 

$6  79 

$-24,955  00 

_ 

- 

3675 

. 

1 

2 

Somerville, 

6  46.8 

3519  00 

_ 

- 

544 

- 

7 

3 

West  Cambridge, 

6  26.9 

2683  00 

- 

- 

428 

- 

14 

4 

Lexington, 

6  12.7 

2500  00 

- 

- 

408 

- 

13 

5 

Boxborough, 

5  97 

400  00 

_ 

- 

67 

- 

8 

6 

Cambridge, 

5  49.7 

18,249  5:3 

- 

- 

3320 

- 

6 

7 

Brighton, 

5  44.4 

2700  00 

. 

- 

496 

- 

4 

8 

Concord, 

5  37.6 

2500  00 

. 

. 

465 

- 

2 

9 

Medford, 

5  17.2 

3600  00 

- 

- 

696 

- 

3 

10 

Watertown, 

4  96.5 

2800  00 

. 

- 

564 

- 

5 

11 

Lowell, 

4  82.6 

30,492  62 

- 

- 

6318 

- 

12 

12 

Waltham, 

4  54 

3500  00 

_ 

- 

771 

. 

10 

13 

Weston, 

4  10.2 

1050  00 

_ 

- 

256 

- 

23 

14 

Carlisle, 

4  03.2 

500  00 

_ 

. 

124 

- 

11 

15 

South  Reading, 

4  02,2 

1850  00 

- 

- 

460 

- 

19 

16 

Littleton, 

4  01.7 

900  00 

_ 

- 

224 

_ 

17 

17 

Billerica, 

3  88.6 

1500  00 

_ 

_ 

386 

- 

22 

18 

Maiden, 

3  82.2 

3000  00 

_ 

- 

785 

_ 

16 

19 

Sherburne, 

3  74.5 

925  00 

. 

- 

247 

- 

26 

20 

Tyngsborough, 

3  67 

800  00 

- 

- 

218 

#43  67 

36 

21 

Dunstable, 

3  59.7 

500  00 

_ 

- 

139 

30  00 

43   22 

Newton, 

3  49 

4000  00 

_ 

- 

1146 

. 

18   23 

Wayland, 

3  37.1 

900  00 

- 

- 

267 

_ 

20   24 

Bedford, 

3  26.5 

800  00 

_ 

_ 

245 

_ 

33   25 

Shirley, 

3  23.7 

780  00 

_ 

_ 

241 

_ 

40   26 

Ashby, 

3  22 

900  00 

#50  00 

$950  00 

295 

- 

21   27 

Woburn, 

3  16.8 

3000  00 

_ 

_ 

947 

_ 

25   28 

Framingham, 

3  13.1 

3000  00 

_ 

_ 

958 

- 

34   29 

Acton, 

3  07.7 

1000  00 

. 

_ 

325 

. 

28   30 

Reading, 

3  05.8 

2000  00 

. 

_ 

654 

. 

29   31 

Tewksbury, 

2  97.9 

700  00 

_ 

_ 

235 

_ 

32  32 

Stoneham, 

2  97.3 

1100  00 

_ 

370 

_ 

31   33 

Chelmsford, 

2  97 

1500  00 

_ 

_ 

505 

•_ 

27   34 

Wilmington, 

2  94.8 

625  00 

_ 

_ 

212 

_ 

24   35 

Burlington, 

2  87.1 

300  00 

58  93 

358  93     125 

_ 

15   36 

Lincoln, 

2  78 

570  00 

_ 

205 

_ 

30   37 

Dracut, 

2  69.2 

1544  12 

213  71 

1757  83     653 

75  00 

35   38 

Ashland, 

2  58 

800  00 

_ 

. 

310 

_ 

37   39 

Stow, 

2  54.5 

700  00 

_ 

_ 

275 

_ 

39   40 

Westford, 

2  49.4 

1000  00 

_ 

■ 

401 

_ 

38   41 

Pepperell, 

2  41.5 

1000  00 

. 

. 

414 

- 

42   42 

Holliston, 

2  40 

1200  00 

_ 

- 

500 

_ 

41   43 

Groton, 

2  35.3 

KiOO  00 

. 

_ 

680 

_ 

45   44 

Hopkinton, 

2  28.5 

1200  00 

. 

_ 

525 

. 

44   45 

Townsend, 

2  11.9 

1000  00 

_ 

_ 

472 

55  34 

48   46 

Natick, 

2  08.3 

1000  00 

_ 

_ 

480 

- 

47,  47 

Marlborough, 

2  02.2 

1300  00 

_ 

. 

643 

- 

46  48 

Sudbury, 

1  90.2 

740  00 

- 

- 

389 

- 

GRADUATED  TABLES. 


xlvii 


WORCESTER  COUNTY. 


— 

ated 
each 
n   4 
age. 

ii- 

3-G 

•n  § 

^ 

09 

" « § 

3  Q.S 

1-1 

1-i 

8| 

1 

% 

TOWNS. 

lr| 

p      o 

a  aS 

TOTAL. 

■oSo 

ll 

r-< 

bSs; 

S  S  ^ 

8  "-^ 

6  -2  cs 

a^-i 

o 

o 

1 

,g^^s 

lla 

c  5  S 

55  .c  ^ 

<sa 

1 

1     N.  BRAINTREE.I 

$4  67.8 

$800  00 

_ 

- 

171 

- 

2 

2 

Worcester, 

4  13.8 

13,300  00 

- 

- 

3214 

$50  00 

8 

3 

Lancaster, 

3  99 

3200  00 

- 

- 

802 

- 

4 

4 

Bolton, 

3  76.4 

1091  65 

- 

- 

290 

- 

3 

5 

Paxton, 

3  61.4 

600  00 

- 

- 

166 

- 

13 

6 

Harvard, 

3  52.8 

1400  00 

$36  00 

p436  00 

407 

- 

7 

WestBrookfield,* 

3  21.4 

900  00 

_ 

- 

280 

40  00 

6 

8 

Hardwick, 

3  15.8 

1200  00 

_ 

- 

380 

- 

5 

9 

Petersham, 

3  00 

1200  00 

. 

- 

400 

54  25 

26 

10 

Sterling, 

2  91.4 

1300  00 

- 

- 

446 

- 

39 

11 

Royalston, 

2  89.8 

1200  00 

- 

- 

414 

15  00 

31 

12 

Westborough, 

2  88.5 

1200  00 

- 

- 

416 

- 

11 

13 

Soutliborougli, 

2  81.7 

800  00 

- 

- 

284 

- 

28 

14 

Winchendon, 

2  77.3 

1500  00 

- 

- 

541 

- 

14 

15 

Lunenburg, 

2  75.2 

900  00 

- 

- 

327 

- 

20 

16 

Phillipston, 

2  75.2 

600  00 

- 

- 

218 

- 

10 

17 

North  Brookfield, 

2  72.1 

1200  00 

- 

- 

441 

- 

9 

18 

Barre, 

2  71.1 

1800  00 

- 

- 

664 

50  00 

32 

19 

Leicester, 

2  70.4 

1460  00 

- 

- 

540 

- 

15 

20 

Charlton, 

2  58 

1200  00 

- 

- 

465 

160  70 

19 

21 

Warren, 

2  53.8 

1000  00 

. 

- 

394 

52  00 

12 

22 

Douglas, 

2  53.7 

1200  00 

- 

- 

473 

- 

45 

23 

Princeton, 

2  45.7 

1000  00 

_ 

- 

407 

- 

36 

24 

Oakliam, 

2  45.6 

700  00 

. 

- 

285 

20  00 

30 

25 

Auburn, 

2  45.1 

500  00 

- 

- 

204 

- 

54 

26 

Ashburnham, 

2  44.4 

1200  00 

_ 

- 

491 

- 

22 

27 

Oxford, 

2  40.1 

1400  00 

_ 

- 

583 

12  00 

16 

28 

Mendon, 

2  40.1 

600  00 

127  49 

727  49 

303 

- 

24 

29 

Northborough, 

2  38 

800  00 

_ 

- 

336 

- 

18 

30 

Brookfield, 

2  35 

900  00 

_ 

_ 

383 

33  00 

23 

31 

Rutland, 

2  33.2 

800  00 

. 

. 

343 

12  06 

25 

32 

Webster, 

2  33 

1200  00 

_ 

. 

515 

- 

51 

33 

Hubbardston, 

2  32.1 

1200  00 

_ 

. 

517 

- 

7 

34 

Dudley, 

2  31.2 

800  00 

_ 

- 

346 

80  00 

47 

35 

West  Boylston, 

2  30.8 

900  00 

_ 

- 

390 

- 

35 

36 

Fitchburg, 

2  27.7 

2400  00 

_ 

_ 

1054 

- 

21 

37 

Shrewsbury, 

2  25 

900  00 

_ 

- 

400 

- 

34 

38 

Uxbridge, 

2  23 

1200  00 

_ 

- 

538 

- 

42 

39 

Westminster, 

2  19.8 

1200  00 

_ 

. 

546 

22  00 

27 

40 

Athol, 

2  19 

1200  00 

_ 

. 

548 

15  00 

33 

41 

Milford, 

2  10.8 

1400  00 

_ 

- 

664 

- 

37   42 

Upton, 

2  10.3 

900  00 

■_ 

. 

428 

- 

41   43 

Nortlibridge, 

2  08.7 

1000  00 

. 

- 

479 

- 

44   44 

Berlin, 

2  04.1 

500  00 

_ 

. 

245 

- 

48  45 

Gardner, 

2  04.1 

800  00 

. 

. 

392 

- 

46i  46 

Blackstone, 

2  04 

1787  00 

_ 

- 

876 

- 

2£ 

>   47 

Leominster, 

2  01.7 

1200  00 

_ 

- 

595 

- 

4C 

48 

Spencer, 

2  01.2 

1000  00 

_ 

- 

497 

- 

4S 

t  49 

Grafton, 

2  00.9 

1793  81 

60  00 

1853  81 

927 

- 

5S 

t   50 

Holden, 

1  98.8 

1000  00 

_ 

. 

503 

- 

4£ 

)   51 

Templeton, 

1  92.3 

1000  00 

- 

- 

520 

- 

5( 

)   52 

Millbury, 

1  90.3 

1250  00 

- 

- 

657 

- 

A  newly-incorporated  town. 


xlviii 


GRADUATED  TABLES. 


CO 
U 

o 

00 

rl 
P 
O 

TOWNS. 

um  appropriated 
V  towns  for  each 
lild    between  4 
Dd  1<5  yrs.  of  age. 

5li 
III 

o  S*^ 

B  S  S 

3~ 

c  Sis 

TOTAL. 

«S2 
Si  ■ 

6|| 

mount  contrib- 
ted  for  board  and 

U< 

1^ 

X  Xi  u  a 

ii;M  <a 

38  53 

Bovlston, 

$1  87.3 

$500  00 

_ 

_ 

267 

$10  50 

52 

54,  Dana, 

1  86 

400  00 

- 

- 

215 

50  00 

17 

55,  Sutton, 

1  82.8 

1000  00 

- 

- 

547 

- 

56 

56  Soutlibridge, 

1  78.3 

1200  00 

- 

- 

673 

- 

55 

57  Sturbridge, 

1  72.4 

1000  00 

- 

- 

580 

68  00 

HAMPSHIRE  COUNTY. 


2 

1  HATFIELD, 

4  03.6 

750  00 

113  75 

863  75 

214 

. 

1 

2  Nortliampton, 

3  89.8 

4600  00 

- 

- 

1180 

1.50  00 

6 

3  Westhampton, 

2  69.5 

450  00 

- 

- 

167 

300  00 

5 

4'  Granby, 

2  67.3 

850  00 

- 

- 

318 

75  00 

3 

5  South  Hadley, 

2  66.7 

1000  00 

- 

- 

375 

131  50 

7 

6,  Hadley, 

2  58.5 

1300  00 

- 

. 

503 

.30  00 

8 

7  Middlefield, 

2  48.7 

490  00 

- 

- 

197 

448  00 

9 

8,  Enfield, 

2  47.3 

700  00 

_ 

- 

283 

- 

11 

9  Plainfield, 

2  39.6 

520  00 

- 

- 

217 

241  50 

17 

10  Southampton, 

2  35.5 

500  00 

159  31 

659  31 

280 

- 

4 

11  Greenwich, 

2  Ji3.6 

500  00 

. 

- 

214 

45  00 

10 

12  Goshen, 

2  25.5 

300  00 

. 

- 

133 

100  00 

21 

13  Cummington, 

2  20.3 

824  00 

_ 

- 

374 

443  00 

12 

14  Amherst, 

2  14.3 

1500  00 

- 

- 

700 

18  00 

19 

15  Worthington, 

2  08 

500  00 

146  98 

(U6  98 

311 

549  75 

16 

16  Easthampton, 

2  06.4 

450  00 

- 

- 

218 

397  00 

15 

17  Belcliertown, 

2  00.9 

1400  00 

_ 

- 

697 

279  00 

13 

18  Ware, 

1  97.8 

1600  00 

- 

- 

809 

39  00 

18 

19 1  Williamsburg, 

1  84.7 

700  00 

. 

- 

379 

311  00 

22 

20  Chesterfield, 

1  82.5 

500  00 

. 

- 

274 

308  50 

14 

21  Prescott, 

1  69.1 

350  00 

- 

- 

207 

140  00 

20 

22  Norwich, 

1  40.8 

300  00 

. 

- 

213 

250  00 

23',  23  Pelham, 

1  39.8 

400  00 

- 

- 

286 

122  00 

HAMPDEN  COUNTY. 


1 

1 

SPRINGFIELD, 

4  48.7 

9630  00 

. 

2146 

. 

2 

Chicopee,* 

4  35.8 

7400  00 

- 

- 

1698 

- 

2 

3 

Montgomery, 

3  75 

300  00 

- 

- 

80 

181  00 

3 

4 

Longrneadow, 

3  73.1 

1250  00 

_ 

- 

335 

142  00 

6 

5 

Ludlow, 

3  01.6 

950  00 

. 

- 

315 

250  00 

9 

6 

Brimfield, 

2  81.7 

1200  00 

. 

- 

426 

156  00 

8 

7 

Wales, 

2  53.1 

400  00 

. 

- 

158 

46  25 

13 

8 

Tolland, 

2  47.7 

322  00 

. 

- 

130 

78  00 

10 

9 

Monson, 

2  30.3 

1200  00 

. 

- 

521 

487  75 

4 

10 

Russell, 

2  23.2 

250  00 

- 

- 

112 

175  00 

12 

11 

Westfield, 

2  14.6 

2000  00 

- 

- 

932 

154  00 

11 

12 

Wilbraham, 

2  13.9 

900  00 

246  70 

1146  70 

536 

606  50 

7 

13 

Holland, 

2  00 

200  00 

- 

- 

100 

94  00 

5 

14 

Chester, 

1  81.8 

800  00 

- 

440 

703  00 

16 

15 

Granville, 

1  71. !» 

GOO  00 

_ 

- 

349 

3()5  00 

15 

16 

Blandford, 

1  51.9 

(iOO  00 

- 

- 

395 

685  00 

14 

17 

West  Springfield, 

1  48 

1700  00 

- 

- 

1149 

1200  50 

17 

18 

Palmer, 

1  43.2 

1200  00 

- 

- 

838 

183  00 

18 

Southwick,t 

- 

- 

f356 

t551  50 

Newly-incorporated  town. 


t  No  Returns.    From  last  year's  Abstract. 


GRADUATED  TABLES. 


xlix 


FRANKLIN  COUNTY. 


■ajS'^  A 

>>  i 

o  *n 

a«o 

i"^ 

■2  g      S) 

d  g  C  01 

^fi 

S-g-3 

•o-S 

=gg 

00 

o5 

a.  S  S  ° 

'^  f  g 

lit 

3    O.S 

■3^  ^ 

11 
s, 

r-t 

1 

00 

1-1 

o 

TOW.NS. 

a  2  ^ 

3     r^     '^ 

o  2  ^ 

s  a  o 

^  a  M 

"  3  - 

a  aS 
g  ii-^ 

1-1  s;  c3 

TOTAL. 

m 

<  3<H 

1 

1  HEATH, 

$3  21.4 

$810  00 

_ 

. 

252 

$310  00 

2 

2  Sunderland, 

3  12.5 

650  00 

- 

- 

208 

40  00 

11 

3  Deerfield, 

3  00 

1563  00 

_ 

- 

521 

241  00 

21 

4  Ervinoc, 

2  83.2 

250  00 

.$53  00 

$303  CO 

107 

- 

26 

5 

Monroe, 

2  68.6 

209  53 

- 

- 

78 

92  50 

7 

6 

Rowe, 

2  64.5 

500  00 

- 

- 

189 

a3  00 

3 

7 

Greenfield, 

2  56.4 

1500  00 

- 

- 

585 

250  00 

8 

8 

Northfield, 

2  52.6 

1000  00 

G(]  00 

1066  00 

422 

150  00 

4 

9 

Warwick, 

2  51.8 

700  00 

. 

- 

278 

25  00 

9 

10 

Whatelv, 

2  39 

650  00 

- 

- 

272 

86  00 

10 

11|  Shelbufne, 

2  33.2 

800  00 

- 

- 

343 

321  50 

6 

12|  Montague, 

2  25 

852  75 

. 

- 

379 

190  00 

5 

13  New  Salem, 

2  12.9 

800  00 

. 

- 

371 

110  31 

24 

14!  Buckland, 

2  09.8 

600  00 

. 

_ 

286 

35  00 

25 

15  Leverett, 

2  00 

496  00 

- 

248 

197  50 

12 

16;  Charlemont, 

1  98 

600  00 

- 

303 

225  00 

15 

17 

Conway, 

1  95.8 

830  00 

_ 

- 

424 

573  00 

16 

18 

Shutesburv, 

1  87.3 

500  00 

- 

-  ■ 

267 

40  50 

13 

19 

Gill, 

1  82.2 

400  00 

- 

- 

219 

222  00 

23 

20 

Wendell, 

1  81 

400  00 

- 

- 

221 

55  00 

14 

21 

Coleraine, 

1  79.5 

1000  00 

- 

_ 

557 

714  00 

19 

22 

Bernardston, 

1  78.6 

500  00 

- 

- 

280 

351  00 

17 

23 

Orange, 

1  75.4 

800  00 

- 

- 

456 

- 

20 

24 

Hawley, 

1  67.2 

500  00 

299 

160  00 

22 

25 

Leyden, 

1  50 

300  00 

200 

247  00 

18 

26 

Ashfield, 

1  25 

700  00 

- 

560 

450  00 

BERKSHIRE  COUNTY. 


2 

l'  SHEFFIELD, 

2  46.7 

1875  00 

760 

500  00 

3 

2  Pittsfield, 

2  39.9 

2800  00 

- 

- 

1167 

226  00 

25 

3  Mt.  Washington, 

2  32.6 

267  47 

- 

- 

115 

123  00 

9 

4   Adams, 

2  25 

3543  75 

- 

- 

1575 

510  75 

7 

5  Peru, 

2  22.2 

300  00 

- 

- 

135 

325  00 

24 

6  Sandisfield, 

2  16.2 

800  00 

- 

- 

370 

630  00 

21 

7  Cheshire, 

2  14.3 

600  00 

.. 

- 

280 

400  00 

4 

8  Becket, 

2  13.5 

600  00 

- 

. 

281 

580  00 

13 

9  Egremont, 

2  13.4 

525  00 

_ 

24() 

301  50 

6 

10  Lenox, 

2  05.9 

700  00 

. 

340 

617  00 

10 

11   Monterey, 

2  05.4 

325  00 

67  41 

392  41 

191 

407  25 

22 

12  New  MarlbM-o', 

2  02 

700  00 

204  78 

904  78 

448 

644  00 

31 

13  Williamstown, 

1  97.4 

1500  00 

- 

760 

- 

17 

14  Stockbridge, 

1  96.1 

1000  00 

- 

510 

201  00 

5 

15  Alford, 

1  92.3 

250  00 

. 

. 

130 

203  20 

15 

16  Otis, 

1  90.3 

550  00 

. 

- 

289 

517  00 

18 

17  Lanesborough, 

1  88.6 

600  00 

. 

- 

318 

510  00 

26 

18   Florida, 

1  87.5 

300  00 

. 

- 

160 

146  00 

11 

19  Dalton, 

1  81.8 

500  00 

- 

- 

275 

328  00 

12 

20  Windsor, 

1  77.8 

400  00 

- 

- 

225 

90  00 

23 

21;  Washington, 

1     1  76.5 

450  00 

- 

- 

255 

407  00 

GRADUATED  TABLES. 


^ 

ropriated 
for  each 
tween    4 
rs.  of  age. 

1^1 

)f  Surplut 
appropri- 
chools. 

19. 

41 

1 

s 

P4 

00 

I-( 

s 

TOWNS. 

Sum  app 
by  towns 
child   be 
and  16  y 

III 

S  3  o 

ill 

1-1«    0) 

TOTAL. 

S  a;  * 

14   22 

Lee, 

$1   67.4 

$1180  00 

. 

_ 

705 

#400  00 

19   23 

Riclunond, 

1  GG.G 

300  00 

- 

- 

180 

357  01 

20!  24 

Tyringham, 

1  G4.8 

300  00 

- 

- 

182 

139  00 

m  25 

Hinsdale, 

1  56.2 

500  00 

- 

- 

320 

415  00 

28,  2G  Clarksburcr, 

1  55 

200  00 

- 

- 

129 

170  00 

1    27  New  Asliford, 

1  47 

75  00 

- 

- 

51 

61  00 

27   28  Gt.  Barrinirton, 

1  38.5 

1100  00 

- 

. 

794 

350  00 

8   29 

WestStockbridge, 

1  29.8 

500  00 

153  00 

653  00     426 

373  44 

29   30 

Hancock, 

1  27.1 

300  00 

- 

- 

236 

371  28 

30  31 

Savoy, 

1  25 

348  75 

- 

- 

279 

150  00 

NORFOLK  COUNTY. 


1 

1 

BROOKLINE, 

7  39 

3200  00 

433 

2 

2 

Dedham, 

5  71.4 

5000  00 

- 

875 

_ 

4 

3 

Roxbury, 

5  43.8 

19,877  27 

- 

3655 

- 

6 

4 

Dorchester, 

5  42.6 

9002  00 

_ 

1659 

_ 

5 

5 

Dover, 

4  69.2 

500  00     63  00 

563  00 

120 

. 

3 

6 

Milton, 

4  35.7 

2000  00 

_ 

459 

. 

9 

7 

Walpole, 

3  52.1 

1500  00 

. 

426 

_ 

13 

8 

Sharon, 

3  07.7 

600  00   150  86 

750  86 

244 

. 

7 

9 

Cohasset, 

3  04.6 

1200  00 

- 

394 

_ 

16 

10 

Bellingham, 

3  04.4 

800  00   140  63 

940  63 

309 

18  00 

11 

11 

Wrenthani, 

3  01.1 

2100  00   341  86 

2441  86 

811 

_ 

8 

12 

Quincy, 

2  99.6 

3400  00 

- 

1135 

. 

15 

13 

Canton, 

2  94.1 

1600  00 

. 

544 

150  00 

10 

14 

Medway, 

2  85.7 

1500  00 

- 

525 

14 

15 

Foxborough, 

2  85 

1200  00 

- 

421 

. 

12 

16 

Braintree, 

2  82.1 

2000  00 

. 

709 

_ 

19 

17 

Weymoutli, 

2  58.4 

3000  00 

- 

1161 

_ 

18 

18 

Needham, 

2  56.9 

1110  00 

. 

432 

. 

17 

19 

Franklin, 

2  50 

1200  00 

. 

480 

_ 

21 

20 

Medfield, 

2  48.8 

500  00 

_ 

201 

_ 

20 

21 

Stoughton, 

2  26.3 

1700  00 

_ 

751 

. 

22 

22 

Randolph, 

2  03.3 

2000  00 

- 

984 

- 

BRISTOL  COUNTY. 


1 

1 

N.  BEDFORD, 

4  42 

16,600  00 

3755 

2 

2 

Fairhaven, 

4  14.9 

5000  00 

_ 

- 

1205 

125  OC 

3 

3 

Dighton, 

3  03.9 

1000  00 

170  24 

1170  24 

385 

112  OC 

4 

4 

Fall  River, 

3  03.5 

8600  00 

- 

. 

2834 

_ 

9 

5 

Seekonk, 

2  66.3 

1100  00 

242  00 

1342  00 

504 

500  OC 

8 

6 

Somerset, 

2  45.9 

600  00 

- 

244 

64  OC 

6 

7 

Norton, 

2  44.4 

1200  00 

. 

. 

491 

_ 

10 

8 

DartmouUi, 

2  39 

2500  00 

- 

_ 

1046 

1600  OC 

15 

9 

Taunton, 

2  38.9 

6000  00 

_ 

. 

2512 

50  00 

7 

10 

Pawtucket, 

2  34.4 

2400  00 

- 

- 

1024 

. 

19 

11 

Easton, 

2  31.8 

1500  00 

. 

_ 

647 

_ 

11 

12 

Freetown, 

2  30.4 

1000  00 

- 

- 

434 

- 

GRADUATED  TABLES. 


li 


a> 

priated 
or  each 
feea    4 
of  age. 

.as  2 

lildrcn 
and  16 
e. 

•23 

si 

■* 

2""^  £ 

2'2'g 

-«^  M 

«  o 

h!-  1     00 

*  1      00 

o      o 

TOWNS. 

umapp 
y  towns 
did    be 
ndl6yr 

§•2  "3 

O   S  ■" 

g   ^-3 

TOTAL. 

1^ 
Hi 

f-^     f^ 

CO  J2  o  ca 

^^  ^ 

14   13 

Berkley, 

#2  24.2 

#500  00 

. 

- 

223 

- 

12   14 

Attloborough, 

2  23.7 

2109  89 

- 

- 

943 

$77  50 

16   15 

Mansfield, 

2  16.2 

856  00 

- 

- 

396 

- 

171  16 

Rehobotli, 

2  10.4 

900  00 

139  35   1039  35 

494 

322  GO 

18,  17 

Raynliam, 

2  01.5 

800  00 

- 

397 

- 

5:  18 

Wcstport, 

2  00 

1500  00 

- 

750 

- 

13;  19 

Swanzey, 

1  87.5 

600  00 

- 

320 

259  50 

PLYMOUTH  COUNTY. 


2 

1 

KINGSTON, 

4  77.6 

1600  00 

335 

. 

3 

2 

Plymouth, 

4  .59.9 

7000  00 

- 

. 

1522 

548  00 

4 

3 

Hing-ham, 

3  58.4 

3097  05 

- 

- 

864 

- 

9 

4'  Bricigewater, 

3  44.2 

2000  00 

- 

- 

581 

- 

5 

5  Hull, 

3  33.3 

200  00 

- 

60 

- 

1 

6  Duxbury, 

3  28.6 

2100  00 

200  00 

2300  00 

700 

- 

6 

7  Middleborough, 

3  28.4 

4000  00 

- 

- 

1218 

793  00 

7 

8  Scituate, 

3  04.3 

3000  00 

- 

- 

986 

- 

8 

9  Pembroke, 

3  03 

1000  00 

- 

- 

330 

- 

13 

10  W.  Bridgewater, 

2  88.2 

1000  00 

- 

- 

347 

- 

10 

11  Halifax, 

2  77.8 

500  00 

- 

- 

180 

45  00 

12 

12  Plympton, 

2  77.8 

600  00 

- 

- 

216 

250  41 

11 

13  Marsiifield, 

2  75.4 

1300  00 

- 

- 

472 

- 

18 

14  E.  Bridgewater, 

2  73.7 

1500  00 

- 

- 

548 

- 

16 

15  Hanover, 

2  72.7 

1200  00 

- 

- 

440 

- 

14 

16  Hanson, 

2  69.4 

800  00 

- 

- 

297 

- 

17 

17  Abington, 

2  58.8 

3000  00 

- 

- 

1159 

- 

15 

18  N.  Bridgewater, 

2  .55.5 

2000  00 

276  20 

2276  20 

891 

- 

19 

19  Wareham, 

2  40.3 

1800  00 

- 

- 

749 

200  00 

21 

20  Carver, 

1  88.1 

600  00 

- 

- 

319 

290  50 

20 

21  Rochester, 

1  74.3 

2000  00 

- 

- 

1144 

142  00 

BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 


- 

— 

2 

1 

1 

2 

5 

3 

4 

4 

3 

5 

8 

6 

7 

7 

6 

8 

9 

9 

11 

10 

10 

11 

12 

12 

13 

13 

BARNSTABLE, 

Provincetown, 

Yarmouth, 

Falmouth, 

Sandwich, 

Brewster, 

Orleans, 

Eastham, 

Chatham, 

Wellfleet, 

Truro, 

Dennis, 

Harwich, 


3  60.1 

3  22.5 

2  23.2 

2  14.1 

2  12.9 

2  05.1 

2  04.1 

2  03.8 

1  94.8 

1  42.9 

1  36.1 

1  31.6 

1  25.8 

4400  00 
2000  00 
1500  00 
1200  00 
2308  33 

800  00 
1100  00 

450  00 
1200  00 
1000  00 

875  00 
1200  00 
1300  00 


320  00 
376  03 


80  00 


1222 

_ 

617 

- 

672 

1520  00 

710 

2684  36 

1261 

. 

390 

_ 

539 

530  00 

2(i0 

. 

616 

_ 

700 

- 

650 

. 

912 

- 

1033 

150  00 
392  22 
100  00 
118  00 

35  00 
600  00 
480  00 


750  00 


Hi 


GRADUATED  TABLES. 


DUKES  COUNTY, 


•c  ja-*  ai 

^  - 

o  tc 

.  n 

oc 

1-1 
o 

oo 

s 

o 

TOWNS. 

um  appropriate 
y  towns  for  eac 
lild    between 
nd  16yr8.  of  ag 

II 

3  ,,  O 
O    oi  ^ 

OS'S 

TOTAL. 

•si's 

II 

il 

u< 

f^ 

(B^  o  a 

<!  2  o. 

S5.0  ;►. 

1 

1 

EDGARTOWN, 

$2  69.1 

$1200  00 

- 

446 

- 

2 

2 

Chilmark, 

2  r>4.9 

400  00 

1 

151 

- 

3i  3 

Tisbury, 

1  81.5 

900  00 

-      1 

496 

- 

NANTUCKET  COUNTY. 


NANTUCKET, 


5  16.6 


9267  06 


1794 


GRADUATED  TABLE. 


liii 


A  GRADUATED  TABLE, 

Sliowing  the  Comparative  Amount  of  money  appropriated  hy  the  different  Counties 
in  the  State,  for  the  education  of  each  child,  between  the  ages  of  4  and  KJ  years, 
in  each  County. 


CO 

t 

in 

i-i 
1 

COUNTIES. 

Sum  appropriated 
by  counties  for  ea. 
child    between    4 
and  16  yrs.of  age. 

Amount  raised  by 
taxes  for  the  sup- 
port of  schools. 

Income  of  Surplus 
Revenue  appropri- 
ated to  schools. 

TOTAL. 

li. 

Amount  contrib- 
uted for  board  and 
fuel. 

1 

1 

SUFFOLK, 

$10  32 

$240,050  00 

- 

- 

23,257 

- 

2 

2 

Nantucket, 

5  17 

9,267  06 

- 

- 

1,794 

- 

3 

3 

Middlesex, 

4  34 

143,183  27 

$322  64 

$143,505  91 

33,063 

$204  01 

4 

4 

Norfolk, 

3  93 

64,989  27 

696  35 

65,685  62 

16,728 

168  00 

7 

5 

Plymoutli, 

3  05 

40,297  05 

476  20 

40,773  25 

13,358 

2268  91 

5 

6 

Essex, 

3  03 

87,821  75 

1226  13 

89,047  88 

29,393 

52  00 

6 

7 

Bristol, 

2  97 

54,765  89 

551  59 

55,317  48 

18,604 

3110  00 

10 

8 

Hampden, 

2  83 

30,902  00 

246  70 

31,148  70 

11,016 

6108  00 

8 

9 

Worcester, 

2  61 

75,682  46 

223  49 

75,915  95 

29,032 

744  51 

9 

10 

Hampshire, 

2  45 

20,484  00 

420  04 

20,904  04 

8,549 

4378  25 

11 

11 

Dukes, 

2  29 

2,500  00 

- 

- 

1,093 

12 

12 

Franklin, 

2  17 

17,911  28 

119  00 

18,030  28 

8,325 

5169  31 

13 

13 

Barnstable, 

2  10 

19,333  33 

776  03 

20,109  36 

9,582 

2625  22 

14 

14 

Berkshire, 

1  96 

23,389  97 

425  19 

23,815  16 

12,132 

10,453  43 

AGGREGATE  OF  THE  STATE. 


14 


Counties, 


3  87 


830,577  33  5483  36 


836,070  69  215,926  35,281  64 


The  principle  on  which  the  following  Table  is  constructed  is  as  follows : — 

The  first  column  indicates,  in  a  numerical  order,  tlie  precedence  of  the  towns, — 
the  more  meritorious,  in  regard  to  attendance,  standing  before  tlie  less. 

The  second  consists  of  tlie  names  of  tlie  towns. 

The  third  shows  the  No.  of  children  in  each  town  between  the  ages  of  4  and 
16  years. 

The  fourth  shows  the  mean  average  attendance  upon  the  schools  for  both  tlie 
siunmer  and  winter  terms.  This  is  found  by  adding  together  the  average  attend- 
ance for  botli  summer  and  winter,  and  dividing  the  sum  by  2. 

The  fifUi  exliibits,  in  decimals,  the  ratio  which  the  mean  average  attendance 
bears  to  the  whole  number  of  children  in  tlie  town  between  4  and  16.  The  deci- 
mals are  continued  to  four  figures,  the  first  two  of  which  are  separated  from  the 
last  two  by  a  point,  as  only  the  two  former  are  essential  to  denote  the  real  per 
cent.  Yet  the  ratios  of  many  towns  are  so  nearly  equal,  or  the  difference  is  so 
small  a  fraction,  that  the  first  two  decimals,  with  the  appropriate  matliematical  sign 
appended,  indicate  no  distinction.  The  continuation  of  tlie  decimals,  tlierefore,  is 
simply  to  indicate  a  priority  in  cases,  where,  without  such  continuation,  the  ratios 
would  appear  to  be  precisely  similar. 

The  mean  average  attendance  upon  school  being  compared  with  the  whole 
number  of  children  between  4  and  16  years  of  age,  it  is  possible  that  the  result 
may  be  more  than  100  per  cent.,  because  the  attendance  of  children,  under  4  or 
over  16  years  of  age,  may  more  than  compensate  for  the  absence  of  children 
between  those  ages  ;  also,  because  children  may  attend  successive  schools  and  be 
registered  in  each,  and  consequently  the  same  children  may  be  included  several 
times  in  the  total  average  attendance  as  returned.  In  the  latter  case,  as  the 
returns  give  merely  the  sum  of  the  averages  of  all  the  several  schools,  and  may 
not  furnish  the  means  of  obtaining  a  true  mean  average  for  tlie  year,  the  result  ob- 
tained by  applying  the  general  rule  mentioned  above  wOl  be  inaccurate  and  too 
large.  And  this  explains  the  reason  why  the  first  place  in  the  Tables  has  been 
assigned  to  Burlington  for  two  years  past,  while  this  town  has  had  no  real  prece- 
dence over  many  other  towns. 


A  GRADUATED  TABLE, 

fn  which  all  the  towns  in  the   State  are  numerically  arranged,   according  to  tJie 
AVERAGE  ATTENDANCE  of  their  children  upon  the  Public  Schools,  for  the  year 

1848-9. 


V  a 
■g  o 

lis 

■3 

a 

l1 

tendance  to 
No.  of  chil- 
en  4  and  16, 
in  decimals. 

g  ii 

"S  o 
.a  „ 

ggd 

a 
S   . 

*8 

tendance  to 
No.  of  chil- 
en  4  and  16, 
n  decimals. 

TOWNS. 

§®l 

«.2  ^-3 

TOWNS. 

•in   sg 

«.2  l-a 

0  g 

.-,    ^    H    S 

.2  a,  S  o. 

a  g 

.2^11 

°^.2 

I^^S 

=:.a 

S  a 

1-"°  * 

1 

BOXBOROUGH 

67 

82 

1.22-38 

42 

Otis, 

289 

220 

.76-12 

2 

Carlisle, 

124 

126 

1.01-61 

43 

Boxford, 

234 

178 

.76-07 

3 

Royalston, 

414 

394 

.95-17 

44 

Bedford, 

245 

186 

.75-92 

4 

Acton, 

325 

303 

.93-23 

45 

Townsend, 

472 

358 

.75-85 

5 

Hardwick, 

380 

332 

.87-37 

46 

Monroe, 

78 

59 

.75-64 

6 

Hatfield, 

214 

185 

.86-45 

47 

Petersham, 

400 

302 

.75-50 

7 

Littleton, 

224 

188 

.83-93 

48 

Holden, 

503 

379 

.75-35 

8 

New  Braintree, 

171 

143 

.83-63 

49 

Sherburne, 

247 

186 

.75-30 

9 

Methuen, 

520 

428 

.82-31 

50 

Ashby, 

295 

222 

.75-25 

10 

Dedham, 

875 

720 

.82-29 

51 

Ilawley, 

299 

225 

.75-25 

11 

Medway, 

525 

430 

.81-90 

52 

Ludlow, 

315 

237 

.75-24 

12 

Warwick, 

278 

226 

.81-29 

53 

Marlborough, 

643 

483 

.75-12 

13 

Holliston, 

500 

406 

.81-20 

54 

Chelmsford, 

505 

378 

.74-85 

14 

Phdlipston, 

218 

177 

.81-19 

55 

Middlefield, 

197 

147 

.74-62 

15 

Ashburnham, 

491 

397 

.80-86 

56 

Essex, 

373 

278 

.74-53 

16 

Nortli  Chelsea, 

176 

142 

.80-68 

57 

Shutesbur}', 

267 

199 

.74-53 

17 

Dracut, 

653 

524 

.80-25 

58 

Leyden, 

200 

149 

.74-50 

18 

Concord, 

465 

372 

.80-00 

59 

GUI, 

219 

163 

.74-43 

19 

Florida, 

160 

128 

.80-00 

60 

Billerica, 

386 

287 

.74-35 

20 

Eastham, 

260 

207 

.79-62 

61 

Sharon, 

244 

181 

.74-18 

21 

Nortlifield, 

422 

335 

.79-38 

62 

Natick, 

480 

356 

.74-17 

22 

Plainfield, 

217 

172 

.79-26 

63 

Westminster, 

546 

405 

.74-17 

23 

Sterlino- 

446 

353 

.79-14 

64 

Paxton, 

166 

123 

.74-09 

24'  Bolton, 

290 

229 

.78-96 

65 

Oakham, 

285 

211 

.74-04 

25  Stow, 

275 

217 

.78-91 

66 

Barre, 

664 

491 

.73-95 

26;  Brighton, 

496 

390 

.78-63 

67 

Provincetown, 

617 

456 

.73-91 

27  Brookfield, 

383 

301 

.78-59 

68 

Shirley, 

241 

178 

.73-86 

28  Heatli, 

252 

197 

.78-17 

69 

Templeton, 

520 

384 

.73-85 

29 

Greenwich, 

214 

167 

.78-03 

70 

Northborough, 

336 

248 

.73-81 

30 

Warren, 

394 

307 

.77-93 

71 

Upton, 

428 

315 

.73-60 

31 

Orange, 

456 

354 

.77-63 

72 

Maiden, 

785 

577 

.73-50 

32 

Milford, 

664 

514 

.77-41 

73 

Rutland, 

343 

252 

.73-47 

a3 

Ciiarlemont, 

303 

234 

.77-22 

74 

Tyngsborough, 

218 

160 

.73-39 

34 

Lunenburg, 

327 

252 

.77-07 

75 

Tewksbury, 

235 

172 

.73-19 

35 

Dunstable, 

139 

107 

.76-98 

76 

Charlton, 

465 

340 

.73-12 

36 

Soutli  Hadley, 

375 

288 

.76-80 

77 

Princeton, 

407 

297 

.72-97 

37 

Rowe, 

189 

145 

.76-71 

78 

Becket, 

281 

205 

.72-95 

38 

Sunderland, 

208 

159 

.76-44 

79 

Chdmark, 

151 

110 

.72-85 

39 

Hopkinton, 

525 

401 

.76-38 

80 

West  Boylston, 

390 

284 

.72-83 

40 

Lynnfield, 

210 

160 

.76-19 

81 

Walpolc, 

426 

'310 

.72-77 

41 

Medfield, 

201 

153 

.76-12 

82 

Sudbury, 

389 

283 

.72-75 

l\ri 


GRADUATED  TABLE. 


II 

It 

•0 

0 

:§- 
d  "o 

lance  to 
of  chil- 
;  and  16, 
'Ciuial.x. 

11 
1^ 

a 

at  0 

2  -i  CO   iB 

TOWNS. 

—  0  -S 

a  a  firs 

TOWNS. 

a  a    ■ 

g   M  q 

—  -J?  0 

Sao  ^ 

=  00-^ 

■g'^-c 

i| 

•s^li 

i^i 

'1 

V.  0  m  a 

ilil 

oil 

i? 
i^ 

•Jigs. 

83 

Foxborough, 

421 

30() 

.72-68 

135 

Belchertown, 

CA)7 

475 

.68-15 

84 

Wortliington, 

311 

226 

.72-67 

136 

Williamsburg, 

379 

258 

.68-07 

85 

Orleans, 

539 

391 

.72-54 

137 

Cohasset, 

394 

2(58 

.68-02 

86 

Dalton, 

275 

199 

.72-36 

138 

Easthampton, 

218 

148 

.67-89 

87 

N.  Brookfield, 

441 

319 

.72-33 

139 

Boston, 

2185314818 

.67-81 

88 

New  Salem, 

371 

268 

.72-24 

140 

Harvard, 

407 

275 

.67-57 

89 

Conway, 

424 

30(j 

.72-17 

141 

Athol, 

548 

370 

.67-52 

90 

W.  Brookfield, 

2S0 

202 

.72-14 

142 

Marshfield, 

472 

318 

.67-37 

91 

Westborough, 

461 

332 

.72-02 

143 

Rehoboth, 

494 

332 

.67-20 

92 

Westliampton, 

167 

120 

.71-86 

144 

Chelsea, 

1228 

825 

.67-18 

93 

Coleraine, 

557 

400 

.71-81 

145 

Wales, 

158 

106 

.67-09 

94 

Ilubbardston, 

517 

371 

.71-76 

146 

Monterey, 

191 

128 

.67-01 

95 

Pepperell, 

414 

297 

.71-74 

147 

Shrewsbury, 

400 

268 

.67-00 

96 

Canton, 

544 

390 

.71-69 

148 

Hadley, 

503 

337 

.66-99 

97 

Somerville, 

544 

390 

.71-69 

149 

Berlin, 

245 

164 

.66-94 

98 

Gardner, 

392 

281 

.71-68 

150 

Needham, 

432 

289 

.66-89 

99 

Pelham, 

286 

205 

.71-68 

151 

Greenfield, 

585 

391 

.66-84 

100 

Auburn, 

204 

146 

.71-57 

152 

Norwich, 

213 

142 

.66-67 

101 

Montague, 

379 

271 

.71-50 

153 

Scituate, 

986 

657 

.66-63 

102 

Lexington, 

408 

291 

.71-32 

154 

Waltham, 

771 

513 

.66-54 

103 

Spencer, 

497 

354 

.71-23 

155 

Swanzey, 

320 

212 

.66-25 

104 

Middleborough, 

1218 

867 

.71-18 

156 

Goshen, 

133 

88 

.66-16 

105 

Palmer, 

838 

596 

.71-12 

157 

Halifax, 

180 

118 

.65-56 

106 

Sutton, 

547 

389 

.71-11 

158 

Medford, 

696 

456 

.65-52 

107 

Kingston, 

335 

238 

.71-04 

159 

Stoughton, 

751 

489 

.65-11 

108 

Whately, 

272 

193 

.70-96 

160 

Richmond, 

180 

117 

.65-00 

109 

Plympton, 

216 

153 

.70-83 

161 

N.  Bridgewat., 

891 

576 

.64-65 

110 

E.  Bridgewater, 

548 

388 

.70-80 

162 

Charlestown, 

3675 

2369 

.64-46 

111 

Bernardston, 

280 

198 

.70-71 

1(;3 

Weston, 

256 

165 

.64-45 

112 

Manchester, 

412 

290 

.70-39 

164 

Wayland, 

2(i7 

172 

.64-42 

113 

Raynham, 

397 

279 

.70-27 

1()5 

Chesterfield, 

274 

176 

.64-23 

114 

Winchendon, 

541 

380 

.70-24 

KA) 

Hamilton, 

204 

131 

.64-22 

115 

Longmeadow, 

335 

235 

.70-15 

1()7 

Bcllingham, 

309 

198 

.64-08 

IIG 

Sandisfield, 

370 

259 

.70-00 

1(J8 

Dan  vers. 

1817 

1164 

.64-06 

117 

Westford, 

401 

280 

.69-83 

169 

Watertown, 

564 

361 

.64-01 

118 

Lincoln, 

205 

143 

.69-76 

170 

Westport, 

750 

480 

.64-00 

119 

Wrentliam, 

811 

561 

.69-17 

171 

Hanson, 

297 

190 

.63-97 

120 

Erving, 

107 

74 

.69-16 

172 

Lynn, 

3107 

1985 

.63-89 

121 

W.  Cambridge, 

428 

296 

.69-l() 

173 

Dudley, 

346 

221 

.63-87 

122 

Holland, 

100 

«)9 

.69-CO 

174 

Hanover, 

440 

281 

.63-86 

12:3 

South  Reading, 

460 

317 

.68-91 

175 

Leicester, 

540 

344 

.63-70 

124 

Sturbridge, 

580 

399 

.68-79 

176 

Peru, 

135 

86 

.63-70 

125 

Southborough, 

284 

195 

.68-6(5 

177 

Douglas, 

473 

301 

.63-63 

126 

Leverett, 

248 

170 

.68-55 

178 

Topsfield, 

269 

171 

.63-57 

127 

Wilbraham, 

536 

369 

.68-54 

179 

Grafton, 

927 

588 

.63-43 

128 

Buckland, 

286 

196 

.68-53 

180 

Falmouth, 

710 

450 

.63-38 

129 

Pembroke, 

330 

226 

.68-48 

]81 

Mendon, 

303 

192 

.63-36 

130 

Wilnungton, 

212 

145 

.68-39 

182 

Blanford, 

395 

250 

.63-29 

131 

Dover, 

120 

82   .68-33 

183 

Berkley, 

223 

141 

.()3-23 

132 

Wellfleet, 

700 

478    .68-29 

184 

Northampton, 

1180 

746 

.63-22 

133 

Leominster, 

595 

406   .68-23 

185 

Reading, 

(J54 

413 

.63-15 

134 

Enfield, 

283 

193 

.68-19 

186 

Egremont, 

246 

155 

.63-01 

GRADUATED  TABLE. 


Ivii 


a  3   . 
2^1 

■a 

a 

*  s 

tendance  to 
No.  of  chil- 
■en  4  and  16, 
in  decimals. 

a  3j 

•a 

a 

tendance  to 
No.  of  chil- 
en  4  and  16, 
n  decimals. 

TOWNS. 

oil 

i  a 

«^ 

fl  S 
g  a 

TOWNS. 

2o| 
.a'"'  - 

S  a 

187 

Amherst, 

700 

441 

.63-00 

239 

Clarksburg, 

129 

75 

.58-14 

188 

Dighton, 

385 

242 

.62-86 

240 

Weymoutli, 

1161 

671 

.57-79 

189 

Rowley, 

218 

137 

.62-84 

241 

Chatham, 

616 

355 

.57-63 

190 

Groton, 

680 

427 

.62-79 

242 

Blackstone, 

876 

503 

.57-42 

191 

Hinsdale, 

320 

200 

.62-50 

243 

Dennis, 

912 

522 

.57-24 

192 

Montgomery, 

80 

50 

.62-50 

244 

Yarmouth, 

672 

384 

.57-14 

193 

Springtield, 

2146 

1340 

.62-44 

245 

Franklin, 

480 

274 

.57-08 

194 

Wareham, 

749 

467 

.62-35 

246 

Newton, 

1146 

654 

.57-07 

195 

Dana, 

215 

134 

.62-32 

247 

Pittsfield, 

1167 

666 

.57-07 

196 

Wenham, 

280 

174 

.6'2-14 

248 

Saugus, 

361 

206 

.57-06 

197 

W.Bridgewater, 

347 

215 

.61-96 

249 

Alford, 

130 

74 

.56-92 

198 

Fitchburg, 

1054 

653 

.61-95 

250 

Washington, 

255 

145 

.56-88 

199 

Seekonk, 

504 

312 

.61-90 

251 

Nantucket, 

1794 

1015 

.56-58 

200 

Ashland, 

310 

191 

.61-61 

252 

Boylston, 

267 

151 

.56-55 

201 

Roxbury, 

3655 

2247 

.61-47 

253 

Mt.  Washingt'n, 

115 

65 

.56-52 

202 

Plymoudi, 

1522 

935 

.61-43 

254 

Woburn, 

947 

533 

.56-28 

203 

Shelburne, 

343 

210 

.61-21 

255 

Middleton, 

207 

116 

.56-04 

204 

Westfield, 

932 

570 

.61-16 

256 

Southbridge, 

673 

377 

.56-02 

205 

Braintree, 

709 

433 

.61-07 

257 

Lancaster, 

802 

449 

.55-98 

206 

Cheshire, 

280 

171 

.61-07 

258 

Dartmouth, 

1046 

585 

.55-93 

207 

Cummington, 

374 

228 

.60-96 

259 

Milton, 

459 

255 

.55-55 

208 

Oxford, 

583 

355 

.60-89 

260 

Savoy, 

279 

154 

.55-20 

209 

Gt.  Barrington, 

794 

482 

.60-71 

261 

Andover, 

1860 

1010 

.54-30 

210 

Southampton, 

280 

170 

.60-71 

262 

Carver, 

319 

173 

.54-23 

211 

Rockport, 

900 

546 

.60-67 

263 

Beverly, 

1356 

734 

.54-13 

212 

Lowell, 

6318 

3828 

.60-59 

264 

Newbur^port, 

1972 

1063 

.53-90 

213 

Tyringham, 

182 

110 

.60-44 

265 

New  Bedford, 

3755 

2024 

.53-90 

214 

Easton, 

647 

391 

.60-43 

266 

Gramille, 

349 

188 

.53-87 

215 

Bridge  water, 

581 

350 

.60-24 

267 

Son:>irset, 

244 

131 

.53-69 

216 

Wendell, 

221 

133 

.60-13 

268 

Bradford, 

715 

379 

.53-01 

217 

Lawrence, 

1089 

650 

.59-69 

269 

Granby, 

318 

168 

.52-83 

218 

New  Marlboro', 

448 

267 

.59-60 

270 

Abington, 

1159 

612 

.52-80 

219 

Deerfield, 

521 

310 

.59-50 

271 

Attleborough, 

943 

497 

.52-70 

220 

Ware, 

809 

481 

.59-45 

272 

Harwich, 

1033 

543 

.52-57 

221 

Chicopee, 

1698 

1008 

.59-36 

2'3 

Northbridge, 

479 

251 

.52-40 

222 

Fairhaven, 

1205 

715 

.59-34 

«74 

Millbury, 

657 

343 

.52-21 

223 

IpsAvich, 

735 

436 

.59-32 

275 

Adams, 

1575 

822 

.52-19 

224 

Duxbury, 

700 

414 

.59-14 

276 

Brewster, 

390 

203 

.52-05 

225 

Uxbridge, 

538 

317 

.58-52 

277 

Freetown, 

4.34 

224 

.51-61 

226 

Norton, 

491 

289 

.58-85 

278 

Salem, 

4347 

2227 

.51-23 

227 

Worcester, 

3214 

1890 

.58-80 

279 

Monson, 

521 

266 

.51-06 

228 

Brimfield, 

426 

250 

.58-68 

280 

Newbury, 

1026 

523 

.50-97 

229 

Windsor, 

225 

132 

.58-67 

281 

Hingham, 

864 

440 

.50-93 

230 

Mansfield, 

396 

232 

.58-58 

282 

Hancock, 

236 

120 

.50-85 

231 

Quincy, 

1135 

664 

.58-50 

283 

Sandwich, 

1261 

640 

.50-75 

232 

Tolland, 

130 

76 

.58-46 

284 

Ashfield, 

560 

284 

.50-71 

233 

Prescott, 

207 

121 

.58-45 

285 

Gloucester, 

1936 

978 

.50-52 

234 

Hull, 

60 

35 

.58-33 

286 

Stockbridge, 

510 

257 

.50-39 

235 

Haverhill, 

1357 

791 

.58-29 

287 

W.  Springfield, 

1149 

677 

.50-22 

236 

Framingham, 

958 

558 

.58-25 

288 

Lenox, 

340 

170 

.50-00 

237 

Cambridge, 

3320 

1933 

.58-22 

289 

Sheffield, 

760 

380 

.50-00 

238 

Dorchester, 

1659 

965 

.58-17 

290 

Truro, 

650 

325 

.50-00 

Iviii 


GRADUATED  TABLE. 


o  to 

ri 

S.-i£i 

ss> 

•o 

2=«ri 

TOWNS. 

.— <D  -S 

a 
2   . 

attendance 
le  No.  of  ch 
ween  4  and  ; 
:d  in  decimal 

TOWNS. 

1" 

a 
S  . 

o 

1  c 

attendance 
le  No.  of  ch 
ween  4  and  1 
d  in  decimal 

■g-^^ 

^  3 

°-§ii 

■^z^ 

£| 

°1^ 

.s^gl 

gs 

sl°.l 

o:^ 

I5^g 

S  a 

|552 

291 

Brookline, 

433 

214 

.49-42 

304  Burlington,* 

125 

55 

.44-00 

292,  Webster, 

515 

254 

.49-32 

305  Marblehead, 

1512 

656 

.43-39 

293  Georgetown, 

516 

254 

.4i)-22 

306  Russell, 

112 

48 

.42-86 

294'  W.  Stockbridge, 

426 

209 

.49-00 

307  Williamstown, 

760 

324 

.42-63 

295  Randolph, 

984 

482 

.48-98 

308,  Salisbury, 

709 

302 

.42-59 

2J1G  Pawtucket, 

1024 

497 

.48-53 

309!  Lanesborougli, 

318 

135 

.42-45 

297  Barnstable, 

1222 

581 

.47-55 

310  W.  Newbury, 

450 

190 

.42-22 

298 1  Chester, 

440 

209 

.47-50 

311 

Amesbury, 

701 

291 

.41-51 

2S9  Fall  River, 

2834 

1337 

.47-28 

312 

Edgartown, 

446 

162 

.36-32 

300  Lee, 

705 

328 

.46-52 

313 

Tisbury, 

496 

174 

.35-08 

301  Rochester, 

1144 

529 

.46-24 

314 

New  Ashford, 

51 

16  .31-37 

302  Taunton, 

2512 

1129 

.44-94 

Southwick,t 

356 

221   .62-08 

303  Stoneham, 

370 

166 

.44-86 

*Iii  the  Appendices  to  the  Eleventh  and  Twelfth  Annual  Reports  of  the  Board  of  Education, 
the  "  Mean  Average  Attendance,"  in  Burlington,  was  staled  to  be,  for 

1846—7    -     -     -     130;  and  the  "Ratio  of  AUendance,"     -     -     -     1.08. 
1847—8    -    -    -     140;    "      "        "        "  "  ...     1.25. 

But  this  estimate,  though  obtained  by  the  same  process  of  calculation  as  in  all  the  other  towns 
was  apparently  excessive ;  and  the  error  now  proves  to  have  arisen  from  a  peculiarity  in  the 
method  of  keeping  the  schools  in  Burlington  which  was  passed  unnoticed  in  their  Annual  Re- 
turns. The  town  is  not  districted  ;  and  the  schools  arc  not  all  kept  simultaneonsly  in  any  given 
season,  (as  everywhere  else  in  the  Commonwealth,)  but  successively.  In  184G-7,  there  were 
iwo  successions  of  schools,  bah  summer  and  winter.  In  1847-8,  and  1848-9,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  each  summer  term  a  sc'.iool  was  begun  in  the  centre  of  the  place,  which  was  followed 
by  two  others,  and  these  again  bj  two  others,  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  And  the  like  may 
be  said  of  the  winter  schools  ;  two  vere  commenced  at  the  beginning  of  the  winter  term  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  town,  which  were  succeeded  by  two  others  in  opposite  quarters.  In  consequence 
of  this  arrangement  there  have  been  thiee  successions  of  schools  there  in  the  summer  of  each  of 
the  two  years  last  mentioned,  and  two  ii.  the  winter,  and  the  schools  keeping  at  any  one  time 
have  ever  been  open  alike  to  all  the  children  in  the  town.  Hence,  in  many  instances  the  same 
children  have  attended  and  been  registered  a  four  and  even  five  different  schools  in  the  course 
of  one  year,  which  accounts,  in  part,  for  the  txcess  of  the  mean  average  attendance  ii-pon  school, 
in  Burlington,  for  tlic  years  181G-7  and  1817-&  (as  published  in  the  aforenamed  Annual  Reports 
of  the  Board,)  above  the  whole  number  of  chiklien  between  4  and  IG  years  of  age  in  the  place. 
In  the  last  Animal  Report  from  Burlington,  the  [r-culiarity  just  referred  to  has  been  particu- 
larly described,  and  tlie  proper  way  for  ascertaining  \he  mean  ammal  average  attendance  upon 
school  there,  in  view  of  it,  has  been  suggested,  viz.,  to  divide  the  sum  of  the  average  attend- 
ance upon  all  the  summer  schools  by  the  number  of  successions  of  those  schools,  for  the  mean 
average  attendance  in  summer ;  the  sum  of  the  average  attendance  upon  all  the  winter  schools, 
by  the  number  of  successions,  for  the  mean  average  attendance  in  winter ;  and  the  sum  of  the 
mean  average  attendance  for  both  seasons  by  two,  for  the  n.ean  average  attendance  for  the 
year.     By  this  rule  we  obtain  the  following  results,  viz.,  for 

1846 — 1,  Mean  average  attendance  for  the  year,  64.75;  Ratio  of  Attendance,  .54 — 
1847—8,    "  "  "  "  57.915;    "  "  .51.7 

1848—9,    "  "  "  "  65.;  "  "  .44. 


t  No  Returns.    From  last  year's  Abstract. 


GRADUATED  TABLES. 


lix 


GRADUATED  TABLES, 

In  which  all  the  toiirns,  in  the  respective  Counties  in  the  State,  are  numencally  ar- 
ranged, according  to  the  mean  average  attendance  of  their  children  upon  the  Public 
Schools,  for  tlie  year  1848-49. 


[For  an  explanation  of  the  principle  on  which  these  Tables  are  constructed,  sec  ante,  p.  liv.] 


SUFFOLK  COUNTY. 


— 

g  S) 

t3 

-2 -=2"^ 



g?o 

-a 

2:i=o-, 

TOWNS. 

m 

a 
3 

ii 

Ratio  of  attendance 
the  whole  No.  of  ch 
dren  between  4  and 
expressed  in  decima 

TOWNS. 

•°  2 
a  d   . 

m 

fl 
.2   . 

fl  s 

S  n 

Ratio  of  attendance 
the  whole  No.  of  ch 
dren  between  4  and  '. 
expressed  in  decimal 

1 

N.  CHELSEA, 

176 

142 

.80-68 

3 

Chelsea, 

1228 

825 

.67.18 

2 

Boston, 

21853 

14818 

.67-81 

ESSEX  COUNTY. 


1 

METHUEN, 

520 

428 

.82-31 

16 

Saugus, 

361 

206 

.57-0(; 

2 

Lynnfield, 

210 

160 

.76-19 

17 

Middleton, 

207 

116 

.56-04 

3 

Boxford, 

234 

178 

.76-07 

18 

Andover, 

1860 

1010 

.54-30 

4 

Essex, 

373 

278 

.74-53 

19 

Beverly, 

1356 

734 

.54-13 

5 

Manchester, 

412 

290 

.70-39 

20 

Newburyport, 

1972 

1063 

.53-90 

6 

Hamilton, 

204 

131 

.64-22 

21 

Bradford, 

715 

379 

.53-01 

7 

Danvers, 

1817 

1164 

.64-06 

22 

Salem, 

4347 

2227 

.51-23 

8 

Lynn, 

3107 

1985 

.63-89 

23 

Newbury, 

1026 

523 

.50-97 

9 

Topsfield, 

269 

171 

.63-57 

24 

Gloucester, 

1936 

978 

.50-52 

10 

Rowley, 

218 

137 

.62-84 

25 

Georgetown, 

516 

254 

.49-22 

11 

Wenham, 

280 

174 

.62-14 

26 

Marblehead, 

1512 

656 

.43-3t» 

12 

Rockport, 

900 

546 

.60-67 

27 

Salisbury, 

709 

302 

.42-59 

13 

Lawrence, 

1089 

650 

.59-69 

28 

West  Newbury, 

450 

190 

.42-22 

14 

Ipswich, 

735 

436 

,59-32 

29 

Amesbury, 

701 

291 

.41-51 

15 

Haverhill, 

1357 

791 

.58-29 

MIDDLESEX  COUNTY. 


BOXBOROUGH 

Carlisle, 

Acton, 

Littleton, 

Holliston, 

Dracut, 

Concord, 

Stow, 


67 

82 

1.22-38 

9 

124 

126 

1.01-61 

10 

325 

283 

.87-08 

11 

224 

188 

.83-93 

12 

500 

406 

.81-20 

13 

653 

524 

.80-25 

14 

465 

372 

.80-00 

15 

275 

217 

.78-91 

16 

Brighton, 

Dunstable, 

Hopkinton, 

Bedford, 

Townsend, 

Sherburne, 

Ashby, 

Marlborough, 


496 

390 

139 

107 

525 

401 

245 

186 

472 

358 

247 

186 

295 

222 

643 

483 

.78-63 
.76-98 
.76-38 
.75-92 
.75-85 
.75-30 
.75-25 
.75-12 


Ix 


GRADUATED  TABLES. 


■ — 

sa. 

-3 

2^:0  i 

s  ^ 

T3 

°  =  S"i 

.^S'^d 

4,  a 

.,,  J)    ^ 

g  g  ° 

tendanc 
No.  of  e 
en  4  and 
n  decim 

IS 

°  ?  « 
oj  a>  a 

&i 

tendanc 
No.  of  c 
en  4  and 
n  deeim 

TOWJSS. 

2.;'? 

S  = 

"S  S-a 

TOWNS. 

2--.0 

^  a 

a  a  fc^ 

I'll 

•S     ja 
c§2 

io  of 
e  who 
en  be 
presse 

=  ..= 

2"= 

o^.H 

S  g 

|5-S£ 

17 

Chelmsford, 

505 

378 

.74-85 

33 

Waltham, 

771 

513 

.66-54 

18 

Billerica, 

386 

287 

.74-35 

34 

Mcdford, 

696 

456 

.65-52 

19 

Natick, 

480 

356 

.74-17 

35 

Charlestown, 

3675 

2369 

.64-46 

20 

Shirley, 

241 

178 

.73-86 

36 

Weston, 

256 

165 

.64-45 

21 

Maiden, 

785 

577 

.73-50 

37 

Wayland, 

267 

172 

.64-42 

22'  Tyngsborough, 

218 

160 

.73-39 

38 

Watertown, 

564 

361 

.64-01 

23,  Tewksbury, 

235 

172 

.73-19 

39 

Reading, 

654 

413 

.63-15 

24  Sudbury, 

389 

283 

.72-75 

40 

Groton, 

680 

427 

.62-79 

25  Pepperell, 

414 

297 

.71-74 

41 

Ashland, 

310 

191 

.61-61 

26  Somerville, 

544 

390 

.71-69 

42 

Lowell, 

(h318 

3828 

.60-59 

27 1  Lexington, 

408 

291 

.71-32 

43 

Framingham, 

958 

558 

.58-25 

28  Westford, 

401 

280 

.69-83 

44 

Cambridge, 

3320 

1933 

.58-22 

29 1  Lincoln, 

205 

143 

.69-76 

45 

Newton, 

1146 

654 

.57-07 

30^  W.  Cambridge, 

428 

296 

.69-16 

46 

Woburn, 

947 

533 

.56-28 

31  South  Reading, 

460 

317 

.68-91 

47 

Stoneham, 

370 

166 

.44-86 

32  Wilmington, 

212 

145 

.68-39 

48 

Burlington, 

125 

55 

.44-00 

WORCESTER  COUNTY. 


ROYALSTON 

Hard  wick. 

New  Braintree, 

Phillipston, 

Ashburnliam, 

Sterling, 

Bolton, 

Brookfield, 

Warren, 

Milford, 


111  Lunenburg, 


Petersham, 
Holden, 
Westminster, 
Paxton, 
Oakham, 
Barre, 
Templeton, 
19]  Northborough, 

20  Upton, 

21  Rutland, 
22'  Charlton, 
23i  Princeton, 

24;  West  Boylston, 
25!  N.  Brookfield, 
26]  W.  Brookfield, 
27|  Westborough, 
28  Hubbardston, 
29,  Gardner, 


414 

394 

.95-17 

380 

332 

.87-37 

171 

143 

.83-63 

218 

177 

.81-19 

491 

397 

.80-86 

446 

353 

.79-14 

290 

229 

.78-96 

383 

301 

.78-59 

394 

307 

.77-93 

664 

514 

.77-41 

327 

252 

.77-07 

1  400 

302 

.75-50 

1  503 

379 

.75-35 

546 

405 

.74-17 

166 

123 

.74-09 

285 

211 

.74-04 

664 

491 

.73-95 

520 

384 

.73-85 

336 

248 

.73-81 

428 

315 

.73-60 

343 

252 

.73-47 

465 

340 

.73-12 

407 

297 

.72-97 

'  390 

284 

.72-82 

441 

319 

.72-33 

!  280 

202 

.72-14 

i  461 

332 

.72-02 

1  517 

371 

.71-76 

1  392 

281 

.71-68 

30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 


Auburn, 

Spencer, 

Sutton, 

Winchendon, 

Sturbridge, 

Southborough, 

Leominster, 

Harvard, 

Athol, 

Shrewsbury, 

Berlin, 

Dudley, 

Leicester, 

Douglas, 

Grafton, 

45  Mendon, 

46  Dana, 

47  Fitchburg, 

48  Oxford, 

49  Uxbridge, 

50  Worcester, 

51  Blackstone, 

52  Boylston, 

53  Soutlibridge, 

54  Lancaster, 

55  Northbridge, 

56  Millbury, 

57  Webster, 


204 
497 
,547 
541 
580 
284 
595 
407 
548 
400 
245 
346 
540 
473 
927 
303 
215 

1054 
583 
.538 

3214 
876 
267 
673 
802 
479 
657 
515 


146 
354| 
389 
380 
399 
195 
406 
275 
370! 
268, 
164 
221 
344 
301 
588 
192 
134 
653 
355 
317 
1890 
503 
151 
377, 
449 
251 
343 
254 


.71-57 
.71-23 
.71-11 

.70-24 
.68-79 
.68-66 
.68-23 
.67-57 
.67-52 
.67-00 
.66-94 
.63-87 
.63-70 
.63-63 
.63-43 
.63-36 
.62-32 
.61-95 
.60-89 
.58-92 
.58-80 
.57-42 
.56.55 
.56-02 
.55-98 
.52-40 
.52-21 
.49-32 


GRADUATED  TABLES. 


Ixi 


HAMPSHIRE  COUNTY. 


0  £, 

•a 

a 

S| 

•3 

■2.-=2"»5 

l! 

a_. 

i-isl 

■So 

rt  o  *  y 

TOWNS. 

a,  u  a 

S  a 

az  §  a 

TOWNS. 

gSd 

a  o  Q^ 

o  ^  a  S 

a^ 

^5^5 

S  0 
S5* 

|ll2 

1 

HATFIELD, 

214 

185 

.86-45 

13  Hadley, 

503 

337 

.66-99 

2 

Plainfield, 

217 

172 

.79-26 

14  Norwich, 

213 

142 

.66-67 

3 

Greenwich, 

214 

m7 

.78-03 

15  Goshen, 

1,33 

88 

.66-16 

4 

South  Hadley, 

375 

288 

.76-80 

16 

Chesterfield, 

274 

176 

.64-23 

5 

Middlefield, 

197 

147 

.74-62 

17 

Northampton, 

1180 

746 

.63-22 

a 

Worthington, 

311 

226 

.72-67 

18 

Amherst, 

700 

441 

.63-00 

7 

Westhampton, 

167 

120 

.71-86 

19 

Cummington, 

374 

228 

.60-96 

8 

Pelham, 

286 

205 

.71-68 

20 

Southampton, 

280 

170 

.60-71 

[) 

Enfield, 

283 

193 

.68-19 

21 

Ware, 

809 

481 

.59-45 

10 

Belchertown, 

697 

475 

.68-15 

22 

Prescott, 

207 

121 

..58-45 

11 

Williamsburg, 

379 

258 

.68-07 

23 

Granby, 

318 

168 

.52-83 

ly 

Easthampton, 

218 

148 

.67-89 

HAMPDEN  COUNTY. 


LUDLOW, 

Palmer, 
Longmeadow, 
Holland, 
Wilbraham, 
Wales, 
Blandford, 
8!  Montgomery, 
9j  Springfield, 
lOl  Westfield, 


315 

237 

.75-24 

11 

838 

.596 

.71-12 

12 

335 

235 

.70-15 

13 

100 

69 

.69-00 

14 

536 

369 

.68-54 

15 

158 

106 

.67-09 

16 

395 

250 

.63-29 

17 

80 

50 

.62-50 

18 

2146 

1340 

.62-44 

932 

570 

.61-16 

Chicopee, 

Brimfield, 

Tolland, 

Granville, 

Monson, 

W.  Springfield, 

Chester, 

Russell, 

South  wick,* 


1698 

1008 

426 

250 

130 

76 

349 

188 

521 

266 

1149 

677 

440 

209 

112 

48 

356 

221 

FRANKLIN  COUNTY. 


WARWICK, 

Northfield, 

Heath, 

Orange, 

Charlemont, 

Rowe, 

Sunderland, 

Monroe, 

Hawley, 

Shutesbury, 

Leyden, 

Gill, 

New  Salem, 


278 

226 

.81-29 

14 

422 

335 

.79-38 

15 

252 

197 

.78-17 

16 

456 

354 

.77-63 

17 

303 

2.34 

.77-22 

18 

189 

145 

.76-71 

19 

208 

159 

.76-44 

20 

78 

59 

.75-64 

21 

299 

225 

.75-25 

22 

267 

199 

.74-53 

23 

200 

149 

.74-50 

24 

219 

163 

.74-43 

25 

371 

268 

.72-24 

26 

Conway, 

Coleraine, 

Montague, 

Whately, 

Bernardston, 

Erving, 

Leverett, 

Buckland, 

Greenfield, 

Shelburne, 

Wendell, 

Deerfield, 

Ashfield, 


424 

306 

557 

400 

379 

271 

272 

193 

280 

198 

107 

74 

248 

170 

286 

196 

585 

391 

343 

210 

221 

ia3 

521 

310 

560 

284 

*  No  Returns.    From  last  year's  Abstract. 


Iti'i 


GRADUATED  TABLES. 


BERKSHIRE  COUNTY. 


•a 

2ri2" 

-a 

a 

■2  rigs 

Sv- 

S  . 

§  '''2  e 

2- 

a  . 

^  ^  '2  S 

TOW>-S. 

IS 

d  S   • 
o  D  a 

in 
111 

o-a 

li 

°  s 

TOWNS. 

•g     ■« 

03   O 
O 

rt   O   *   ?. 

■s||| 

1 

FLORIDA, 

160 

128 

.80-00 

17 

Pittsfield, 

1167 

G66 

.57-07 

2 

Otis, 

289 

220 

.76-12 

18 

Alford, 

130 

74 

.56-92 

3 

Becket, 

281 

205 

.72-95 

19 

Washington, 

255 

145 

.56-88 

4 

Dalton, 

275 

199 

.72-36 

20 

Mt.Wasliingt'n, 

115 

65 

.56-52 

5 

Sandisfield, 

370 

259 

.70  00 

21 

Savoy, 

279 

154 

.55-20 

6 

Monterey, 

191 

128 

.67-01 

22 

Adams, 

1.575 

822 

.52-19 

7 

Richmond, 

180 

117 

.65-00 

23 

Hancock, 

236 

120 

.50-85 

8|  Peru, 

135 

86 

.63-70 

24 

Stockbridge, 

510 

257 

.50-39 

9  Egremont, 

246 

155 

.63-01 

25 

Lenox, 

340 

170 

.50-00 

10  Hinsdale, 

320 

200 

.62-50 

26 

Sheffield, 

760 

380 

.50-00 

111  Cheshire, 

280 

171 

.61-07 

27 

W.Stockbridge, 

426 

209 

.49-06 

12  Gt.  Barrington, 

794 

482 

.60-71 

28 

Lee, 

705 

328 

.46-52 

13,  Tyrinsrham, 

182 

110 

.60-44 

29 

Williamstown, 

760 

324 

.42-63 

14 

N.Marlborough, 

448 

267 

.59-60 

30 

Lanesborough, 

318 

135 

.42-45 

15 

Windsor, 

225 

132 

.58-67 

31 

New  Ashford, 

51 

16 

.31-37 

16 

Clarksburg, 

129 

75 

.58-14 

NORFOLK  COUNTY. 


1  DEDHAM, 
21  Medway, 
3|  Medfield, 
4i  Sharon, 
5|  Walpole, 
6,  Foxborough, 

7  Canton, 

8  Wrentham, 
9)  Dover, 

10  Cohasset, 
11 !  Needham, 


875 

720 

•82-29 

12 

525 

430 

.81-90 

13 

201 

153 

.76-12 

14 

244 

181 

.74-18 

15 

426 

310 

.72-77 

16 

421 

306 

.72-68 

17 

544 

390 

.71-69 

18 

811 

561 

.69-17 

19 

120 

82 

.68-33 

20 

394 

268 

.68-02 

21 

432 

289 

.66-89 

22 

Stoughton, 

Bellingham, 

Roxbury, 

Braintree, 

Quincy, 

Dorchester, 

Weymouth, 

Franklin, 

Milton, 

Brookline, 

Randolph, 


751 

489 

309 

198 

3655 

2247 

709 

433 

1135 

664 

1659 

965 

1161 

671 

480 

274 

4.59 

255 

433 

214 

984 

482 

BRISTOL  COUNTY. 


1 

RAYNHAM, 

397 

279 

.70-27 

11  Mansfield, 

396 

232 

.58-58 

2 

Rehoboth, 

494 

332 

.67-20 

12  Dartmouth, 

1046 

585 

.55-93 

3  Swanzey, 

320 

212 

.66-25 

13 

New  Bedford, 

3755 

2024 

.53-90 

4 

Westport, 

750 

480 

.64-00 

14 

Somerset, 

244 

131 

..53-69 

5 

Berkley, 

223 

141 

.6.3-23 

15 

Attleborougli, 

943 

497 

.52-70 

6 

Dighton, 

385 

242 

.62-86 

16 

Freetown, 

434 

224 

.51-61 

7 

Seekonk, 

504 

312 

.61-90 

17 

Pawtuckct, 

1024 

497 

.48-53 

8j  Easton, 

647     .391 

.60-43 

18 

Fall  River, 

2834 

1337 

.47-28 

9  Fairhaven, 

1205     715 

.59-34 

19 

Taunton, 

2512 

1129 

.44-94 

10  Norton, 

491     289 

.58-85 

GRADUATED  TABLES. 


Ixiii 


PLYMOUTH  COUNTY. 


S| 

■a 

,  ■a      a 

$1 

a 

°^S"i 

Ml 

-2    . 

S  o  t«  V, 

mi 

"S  ° 

a  o 

2 

rt  o  *  « 
"^    ■-* ^ 

0  o  a 

TOWNS. 

2,n2 

S  a 

■S^    ?T! 

TOWNS. 

;=^i 

S  a 

rt  a)  ^  -^ 

oil 

^1 
a  g 

o|ii 

^-1 

o  *  d  S 

S5^£ 

S* 

K""^" 

1 

MIDDLEBORO' 

1218 

867 

.71-18 

12 

Wareham, 

749 

467 

.62-35 

2 

Kingston, 

a35 

238 

.71-04 

13 

W.  Bridgewater 

347 

215 

.61-96 

3 

Plympton, 

216 

153 

.70-83 

14 

Plymouth, 

1522 

935 

.61-43 

4 

E.  Bridgewater, 

548 

388 

.70-80 

15 

BridgeAvater, 

581 

350 

.60-24 

5 

Pembroke, 

330 

226 

.68-48 

16 

Duxbury, 

700 

414 

.59-14 

6 

Marshfield, 

472 

318 

.67-37 

17 

Hull, 

60 

35 

.58-33 

7 

Scituate, 

986 

657 

.66-63 

18 

Carver, 

319 

173 

.54-23 

8 

Halifax, 

180 

118 

.65-56 

19 

Abington, 

1159 

612 

.52-80 

9 

N.  Bridgewater, 

891 

576 

.64-65 

20 

Hingham, 

864 

440 

.50-93 

10 

Hanson, 

297 

190 

.63-97 

21 

Rochester, 

1144 

529 

.46-24 

11 

Hanover, 

440 

281 

.63-86 

BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1 

EASTHAM, 

260 

207 

.79-62 

8 

Yarmouth, 

672 

384 

.57-14 

2 

Provincetown, 

617 

456 

.73-91 

9 

Harwich, 

1033 

543 

.52-57 

3 

Orleans, 

539 

391 

.72-54 

10 

Brewster, 

390 

203 

.52-05 

4 

Wellfleet, 

700 

478 

.68-29 

11 

Sandwich, 

1261 

640 

.50-75 

5 

Falmouth, 

710 

450 

.63-38 

12 

Truro, 

650 

325 

.50-00 

fi 

Chatham, 

616 

355 

.57-63 

13 

Barnstable, 

1222 

581 

.47-55 

7 

Dennis, 

912 

522 

.57-24 

DUKES  COUNTY. 

1 

CHILMARK, 

151 

110 

.72-85 

3 

Tisbury, 

496 

174 

.35-08 

2 

Edgartown, 

446 

162 

.36-32 

NANTUCK 

ET  COUNTY. 

1 

NANTUCKET 

1794 

1015 

.56-58 

MEAN  AVERAGE  ATTENDANCE  FOR  THE  STATE. 

No.  of  children  between  4  and  16  years  of  age  in  the  State,      -        -  215,926 

Mean  average  attendance  upon  school,     ------  134,734 

Ratio  of  attendance  to  the  whole  No.  of  children  between  4  and  16, 

expressed  in  decimals,        --------  .69-}- 


INDEX. 


ACADEMIES,  duty  of  teachers  of,  70. 

ADULTS,  provision  for  educating,  3G. 

AGENT,  owner,  or  superiuteudeut  of  a  manufacturing  establishment.     See  Peimlty. 

AMERICAN  INSTITUTE  OF  INSTRUCTION,  object  of  and  provision  for,  IW. 

influence  of,  110. 
APPARATUS.    See  School  Libraries  and  Apparatus. 

ASSESSORS,  required  to  assess  all  moneys  voted  by  districts,  within  thirty  days  after  re- 
ceiving certificate  from  the  clerk,  59,  61. 

must  issue  warrant  to  a  collector,  59. 

must  deliver  a  certificate  of  assessment  to  the  treasurer  of  the  town,  59. 

powers  and  compensation  of,  59,  60. 

to  determine  in  which  district  lands  of  non-residents  must  be  ta.xed,  60. 

must  certify  such  determination  to  the  town  clerk,  60. 

may  assess  moneys  granted  before  they  were  chosen,  61. 

may  revoke  an  illegal  assessment  and  issue  a  new  warrant,  61. 

may  assess  a  tax  tliough  the  time  limited  by  the  district  has  expired,  62. 

when  mistake  or  error  of,  will  or  will  not  invalidate  their  assessment,  62. 

must  assess  all  moneys  levied  by  contiguous  school  districts,  6-1. 

when  to  charge  the  price  of  school  books  to  parents,  &c.,  94. 

BARBARISM,  Colonial  definition  of,  in  1642,  8. 

BARNARD'S  SCHOOL  ARCHITECTURE,  one  copy  supplied  to  the  clerk  of  each 

town  or  city,  56. 
BLANK  FORMS  OF  INQUIRY,  how  prepared,  110. 
BLIND,  provision  for,  141,  142. 

BOARD  OF  EDUCATION,  how  constituted,  and  duties  of,  101. 
to  make  annual  report,  102, 125. 

expenses  of,  to  be  reimbursed,  accoimts  to  be  audited,  102,  103. 
to  prescribe  form  of  Register,  105. 

of  blank  inquiries,  110. 
report  of,  number  of  copies  of,  to  be  printed,  125. 
to  establish  Teachers'  Institutes,  133. 

to  determine  length  of  sessions  of  Teachers'  Institutes,  133.    See  Teacliers'  Instilides. 
BOOKS,  to  be  used  in  the  schools,  must  be  prescribed  by  committee,  93. 
classes,  may  be,  93. 
text,  must  be  supplied  to  scholars  not  provided,  94. 
to  whom  must  be  charged,  in  such  case,  94. 
may  be  purchased  for  all  the  schools,  95. 
notice  of  such  purchase,  how  given,  95. 

not  to  favor  tenets  of  any  particular  sect  of  Christians,  96.    See  School  Libra' 
vies  and  Apparatus. 
BOSTON,  school  records  of,  7. 
Free  Schools  in,  9. 
population  of,  in  1845,  33. 


ii  INDEX. 

CHAPPEQUIDDICK  INDIANS.    See  Indians. 
CHILDREN,  tlie  natural  rights  of  all  to  an  education,  17. 

the  legal  right  of  all  to  attend  school,  35,  136. 

in  manufacturing  establishments,  how  to  be  instructed,  135. 
CHRISTIANTOWN  INDIANS.    See  Indians. 
CLASSIFICATION  OF  SCHOLARS,  how  facilitated,  38. 
CLERK  of  a  district  must  be  chosen  and  sworn,  50. 

must  make  fair  records,  51. 

holds  his  office  till  another  is  chosen  and  qualified  in  his  stead,  51. 

is  liable  only  for  want  of  integrity,  51. 

case  of  a  sufficient  record  by,  51. 

removal  of  to  an  adjoining  district  is  not  a  disqualification  to  act,  51. 

must  certify  the  district's  vote  to  raise  money  to  the  assessors  of  the  town,  59. 

may  make  a  second  certificate  to  assessors  subsequently  chosen,  62. 

of  Union  School  district,  when  chosen,  65. 
duties  of,  65. 
CLERK  OF  SCHOOL  DISTRICT,  liable  only  for  want  of  integrity  when  certifying  as 
to  a  district  tax,  51. 

duty  of  in  relation  to  school  documents,  125. 
CLERK  OF  THE  SENATE,  to  cause  annual  report  of  the  Board  of  Education  to  be 

printed,  125. 
CLERKS  OF  TOWNS,  duty  of,  in  relation  to  school  documents,  125. 
COLLECTOR,  powers  and  compensation  of,  59,  60. 
CONNECTICUT,  candidates  for  school  teachers  from,  74. 
CONTIGUOUS  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS,  in  adjoining  towns,  38. 
COUNTY  ASSOCIATIONS  of  Teachers,  appropriation  for,  and  how  obtained,  141. 

DEAF  AND  DUMB,  provision  for,  141. 
DISTURBANCE  of  Schools,  134. 
DISTRICT.    See  School  District. 

ENCOURAGEMENT  to  arts,  science,  and  literature,  enjoined,  32. 
of  education,  136. 

in  other  states  and  in  foreign  countries,  146. 

FINES.    See  Penalty. 

FOREIGN  COUNTRIES,  and  other  states,  provision  for  answering  the  requests  of,  140. 

FREE  SCHOOLS,  established  in  certain  places,  9. 

throughout  the  colony,  10. 

argument  in  favor  of,  13 — 32. 

objections  made  to,  15. 

GAY  HEAD  INDIANS.    See  Indians. 

GRAMMAR  SCHOOLS,  meaning  of,  in  colonial  laws,  11. 

GOOD  BEHAVIOR,  importance  of,  80—86. 

HAYWARD,  his  work  on  statistics  cited,  3't. 
HERRING  POND  INDIANS.    Sec  Indians. 
HIGH  SCHOOLS,  for  adjacent  towns,  39. 

committee  of,  how  chosen,  66. 

by  what  towns,  and  by  what  vote,  may  be  formed,  66. 

powers  of  committee  of,  66,  67. 

expenses  of,  how  to  be  borne,  67. 
HOUSES  OF  CORRECTION.    See  Prisoners. 
HULL,  population  of,  in  1840,  34. 


INDEX.  iii 

HUMAN  PHYSIOLOGY;  knowledge  of,  may  be  required  in  all  teachers,  72. 

IDIOTS,  provision  for  the  education  of,  142. 
INDIANS,  tribes,  and  number  of,  139. 

provision  for  the  education  of,  139,  140. 

appropriation  for,  when  to  be  paid  over,  139,  140.  > 

account  of  to  be  rendered,  139,  140. 
INFANTICIDE,  under  what  alternative  should  be  legalized,  32. 
INQUIRIES  AND  RETURNS,  blank  form  of,  &c.  110. 

to  whom  sent,  110. 

how  supplied,  when  not  received,  IIG. 
INTERNATIONAL  literary  and  scientific  exchanges,  146. 

JAILS.     See  Prisoners. 

LAND,  remedy  of  owner  of,  when  taken  for  a  schoolhouse,  57. 

when  disencumbered  of  the  easement,  57. 
LAW,  of  1789,  referred  to  and  disapproved,  37. 
LONGINUS  quoted,  153. 
LYCEUMS,  provisions  for  the  incorporation  of,  143. 

MACHINERY,  &c.,  where  to  be  taxed.     See  Taxes. 
MAINE,  candidates  for  school  teachers  from,  74. 

penalty  imposed  by,  on  teachers  without  a  certificate,  79. 
MANNERS.    See  Good  Behavior. 
MARSHPEE  INDIANS.    See  Indians. 
MASSACHUSETTS,  territorial  organization  of,  for  school  purposes,  33. 

area  of,  33, 38. 

number  of  schools  in,  38. 

average  number  of  square  miles  to  a  school,  38. 

character  of  the  people  of,  100,  147. 

School  Fund,  136.     See  School  Fund. 

Teachers'  Association,  appropriation  for,  140. 

parental  in  her  institutions  and  government,  147. 
MIDDLEBOROUGH,  area  of,  34. 

MINISTERS  of  the  Gospel,  duty  of,  to  promote  attendance  of  children  upon  school,  136. 
MODEL  or  experimental  schools,  131. 

MODERATOR  of  a  district  school  meeting,  must  be  first  chosen,  50. 
MUDDY  RIVER,  30  acres  of  land  at,  assigned  to  Mr.  Purmont,  8. 

NATURAL  ETHICS.     See  Natural  Law. 

NATURAL  LAW,  the  right  of  every  child  to  an  education,  deduced  from,  17. 

NEWBURYPORT,  area  of,  34. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  candidates  for  school  teachers  from,  74. 

NORMAL  SCHOOLS.    See  State  Normal  Schools. 

"  NOURTERING,"  of  children,  meaning  of  the  word,  8. 

OWNER,  agent,  or  superintendent,  of  a  manufacturing  establishment.     See  Penalty. 

PENALTY,  for  neglecting  to  provide  schools,  and  educate  children,  as  required  by  law,  8, 
10,  35,  134. 
for  disturbing  schools,  134. 
how  appropriated,  in  certain  cases,  134. 

for  employing  children  in  manufacturing  establishments,  unless,  &r.,  135,  156. 
how  may  be  avoided,  135. 
for  unlawfullj  excluding  children  from  school,  136. 


iv  INDEX. 

PILGRIM  FATHERS,  a  bold  innovation  made  by,  7,  12. 

POPULATION  of  3Iassacbusetts  Bay,  in  1G17,  H. 

POPULAR  EDUCATION,  can  advance  only  as  the  people  are  improved,  44. 

PRISONERS,  provisions  for  the  education  of,  in  the  state  prison,  in  jails,  and  in  houses  of 

correction,  142. 
PROPERTl^,  qualified  right  of  possessor  in,  18. 

all,  under  a  lien,  for  purposes  of  education,  27,  32. 

where  to  be  taxed,  60. 
PRUDENTIAL  COMMITTEES,  by  whom  chosen,  51. 

must  be  residents  of  the  district  for  which  chosen,  51. 

when  prudential  committee  may  consist  of  three,  51,  52. 

may  select  and  contract  with  teachers,  52,  54, 69. 

duties  of,  52,  53,  54,  55. 

to  keep  the  schoolhouse  in  repair,  52. 

to  furnish  it  with  all  things  "  suitable,"  52,  53. 

may  make  the  district  liable  for  "all  things  necessary  for  the  comfort  of  the  scholars," 
53. 

out  of  what  funds,  to  make  repairs  and  to  supply  furniture,  53. 

to  provide  fuel,  54. 

to  give  information  and  assistance  to  town's  committee,  54,  55. 

can  make  only  conditional  contract  with  teachers,  70. 

at  what  time,  their  power  to  contract  with  a  teacher  is  transferred  to  town's  commit- 
tee, 88. 
PURMONT,  Philemon,  an  early  schoolmaster,  7. 

REAL  ESTATE,  where  to  be  taxed,  GO. 

when  must  be  taxed  in  the  same  district,  60. 
REGISTERS.     See  School  Re^sters. 
RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION,  given  in  the  Colonial  schools,  9. 

Liberty,  96,  97. 
RETURNS.     See  Inquiries  and  Returns. 

when  valid,  116. 
ROXBURY,  Free  Schools  in,  9. 

SECRETARY  OF  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION,  how  appointed,  102. 
general  duties  of,  102—105, 119,  120,  125. 
to  be  librarian  of  State  Library,  103. 
with  power  to  appoint  assistant,  104. 
to  make  annual  report  as  librarian,  104. 

as  secretary,  105,  125. 
contents  of  such  report,  104. 
duty  of,  as  to  Abstract  of  School  Rctunis,  104. 
as  to  school  blanks  and  registers,  104. 
at  meetings  of  Institutes,  &c.,  133. 
to  collect  school  books,  apparatus,  maps,  &c.,  104. 

to  purchase  limited  amount  of  works  on  education  for  benefit  of  teachers,  <fec.,  104. 
to  receive  and  arrange  reports,  returns,  &c.,  of  Common  Schools,  104. 
to  receive  and  preserve  State  documents  in  relation  to  the  Common  School  system, 

104. 
salary  of,  105. 

travelling  and  other  necessary  expenses  of,  by  whom  approved  and  paid,  105. 
to  make  an  annual  report  to  the  Legislature  of  expenses  of  Board,  105. 
SECRETARY  OF  SCHOOL  COMMITTEE,  duty  of,  in  relation  to  school  documents, 
125. 


INDEX.  V 

SELECTMEN,  when  to  determine  where  schoolhouse  shall  stand,  56,  65. 
when  may  select  schoolhouse  lot  for  a  district,  56,  57. 
duty  of,  to  promote  attendance  of  children  upon  school,  136. 
SCHOOLS,  for  the  instruction  of  adults,  authorized,  36. 
money  for  such  schools,  how  assessed,  &c.,  36. 
best  in  undistricted  towns,  36. 
to  be  kept  six  months  in  every  town,  40. 
for  what  limes,  in  towns  of  more  or  fewer  inhabitants,  40. 
what  shall  be  taught  in  different  schools,  40,  41,  42. 
if  of  more  than  fifty  scholars,  one  or  more  female  assistcints  must  be  employed, 

unless,  &c.,  41. 
at  what  places  in  towns,  and  when  for  all  inhabitants  of  town,  41. 
■money  for  support  of,  to  be  raised  in  towns,  42. 
instructors  of,  to  be  examined  by  committee,  69,  76. 

to  be  of  good  moral  character,  and  to  have  literary,  &c.  qualifications. 

69—76. 
to  file  committee's  certificate  of  qualifications  with  town  treasurer  before 

they  receive  pay,  69. 
to  impress  on  youth  principles  of  piety,  temperance,  &c.,  70. 
not  to  be  paid  until  register  is  completed  and  deposited,  105. 
pupils  at,  how  to  be  supplied  with  books,  94. 
penalty,  if  towns  neglect  to  raise  money  for,  134. 

selectmen,  or  committee,  to  apply  proceeds  of  certain  penalties  to  support  of,  134. 
public,  children  unlawfully  excluded  from,  entitled  to  action  against  city  or  tovm,  136. 
provisions  for,  among  certain  Indians,  139,  140. 
SCHOOLS  AND  PUBLIC  MEETINGS,  penalty  for  wilfully  interrupting,  &c.,  134. 
SCHOOL  BOOKS,  not  to  favor  tenets  of  any  particular  sect  of  Christians,  96.     See  Books. 
SCHOOL  COMMITTEE,  of  3,  5,  or  7,  to  be  chosen  by  written  ballots,  at  annual  town 
meetings,  67,  68. 
prudential  committee  chosen  by  towns  for  each  district,  51,  52,  53,  54,  55,  56. 
may  be  chosen  by  districts,  if  towns  so  determine,  51. 
powers  and  duties  of,  52 — 56. 
when  prudential  committee  may  consist  of  three,  51. 

must  establish  school  and  employ  instructor,  if  districts  neglect  or  refuse,  55,  87. 
of  contiguous  school  districts,  who  to  constitute,  and  duty  of,  64. 
of  two  adjoining  towns,  how  to  discharge  duties  in  districts  situate  therein,  64. 
when  to  visit  district  and  other  schools,  64,  89. 
of  union  districts,  who  to  constitute,  65. 

powers  and  duties  of,  65,  66. 
town  committee's  power  to  extend  to,  66. 
additional  number  may  be  chosen  by  towns  of  more  than  4000  inhabitants,  67. 
what  description  of  sufficient,  67. 
to  have  general  charge  of  all  Public  Schools,  67. 
compensation  of,  68. 

forfeited  by  neglect  of  duty  in  regard  to  returns,  68. 

in  case  of  forfeiture  of  income  through  their  neglect,  68. 
dut)'  of,  to  keep  a  record,  68. 
when  to  select  and  contract  with  teachers,  68,  69. 
to  select  and  contract  with  teachers,  unless,  &c.,  69. 
have  sole  power  of  examining  and  approving  teachers,  69. 
must  prepare  certificate  in  duplicate,  69,  76. 
to  require  evidence  of  instructors'  good  moral  character,  70. 

capacity  to  govern,  72. 
to  examine,  personally,  instructors'  literary,  &c.,  qualifications,  71 — 76. 


vi  INDEX. 

SCHOOL  COMMITTEE.     (Continued.) 

may  employ  teachers  who  have  higher  qualifications  than  are  required  by  law,  71. 

who  can  teach  other  branches  besides  those  required  by  law,  72. 

cannot  antedate  a  certificate,  nor  give  a  conditional  one,  77. 

Ccinnot  give  a  certificate  to  continue  in  force  more  than  a  year,  79. 

may,  and  perhaps  should,  designate  th^  school,  &c.,  for  which  a  candidate  is  ap- 
proved, 71). 

may  dismiss  a  teacher  at  their  discretion,  87. 

in  towns  of  500  families,  &c.,  where  school  is  kept  for  all  of  the  inhabitants,  to  per- 
form duties  of  prudential  committee  of  districts,  88. 

to  decide  on  admission  of  pupils  into  such  schools,  89. 

to  visit  and  examine  such  schools,  quarterly  at  least,  89. 

must  inquire  into  regulation,  discipline,  ikc,  of  all  schools,  90,  91. 

authority  of,  during  visitation  of  a  school,  91. 

how  long,  and  for  what  purposes  to  continue  in  office,  92. 

elected  in  February,  March  or  April,  to  hold  over  after  their  successors  cire  chosen , 
for  certain  purposes,  92,  93. 

to  direct  what  books  shall  be  used,  93. 

to  supply  books,  at  town's  e.xpense,  to  children  not  otherwise  furnished,  9-1. 

must  give  notice  to  assessors  respecting  books  supplied  to  children,  94-. 

may  procure  school  books,  and  must  give  notice  where  they  may  be  obtained,  95. 

authority  to  procure  books  to  be  governed  by  a  sound  discretion,  96. 

must  cause  Registers  to  be  kept  in  the  schools,  105. 

to  cause  Registers  of  schools  to  be  kept,  105. 

to  certify  to  number  of  pupils  between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen,  115,  116. 

certificate,  form  of,  and  when  to  be  transmitted,  115,  116. 

to  certify  to  state  treasurer,  yearly,  the  number  of  youth  in,  and  the  sum  raised  by 
town  for  instructors'  wages,  115,  116. 

must  fill  and  return  blanks,  116. 

to  make  returns  of  schools  to  Secretary  of  State,  with  certificate,  116. 

to  answer  inquiries  of  Board  of  Education,  116. 

to  return  blanks,  filled  up,  to  the  Secretary,  on  or  before  the  last  of  April,  116. 

when  reduced  in  number,  remaining  members  empowered  to  make  returns,  116. 

to  send  certificate  with  such  returns,  setting  forth  the  facts,  116. 

to  make  yearly  detailed  reports,  117. 

how  such  reports  to  be  disposed  of,  118. 

may  be  printed  by  committee,  118. 

contents  of  such  reports,  118 — 124. 

must  send  a  copy  of  their  report  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  119. 

penalty  on  towns  for  not  choosing,  134. 

to  apply  penalties,  paid  by  towns  for  default,  to  support  of  schools,  134,  135. 

to  endeavor  that  youth  regularly  attend  school,  136. 

duty  of  to  prosecute  for  employing  children  unlawfully,  in  manufacturing  establish- 
ments, 136. 

to  prosecute  for  breaches  of  the  laws  respecting  the  employment  of  children  in  facto- 
ries, 136.     See  Mamtfacturing  Establishments. 
SCHOOL  DISTRICTS,  two  of  an  anomalous  character  in  the  State,  39. 

may  be  formed  by  towns,  47. 

limits  of,  when  may  and  when  may  not  be  altered  by  towns,  47. 

to  be  corporate  bodies  for  certain  purposes,  47. 

not  to  be  re-districted  so  as  to  change  taxation  of  lands  oftener  than  once  in  ten  years, 
47. 

must  be  organized,  48. 

may  hold  property  for  supporting  schools  therein,  48. 


INDEX.  vii 

SCHOOL  DISTRICTS.     (Continued.) 
may  sue  and  be  sued,  48. 

may  organize  after  an  action  is  brought,  for  prosecuting  it,  48. 
meetings  of,  to  be  called  by  warrants  of  selectmen  or  prudential  committee,  48. 

how  to  be  warned,  48,  49. 
may  raise  money  for  erecting,  &c.,  schoolhouses,  for  land,  and  for  buying  articles 

necessary  for  the  use  of  schools,  48,  56. 
may  fix  the  site  of  schoolhouses,  48,  5G. 
may  direct  mode  of  warning  and  calling  meetings,  49. 
no  business  can  be  legally  transacted  by,  of  which  notice  is  not  given  in  the  warrant 

49,  50. 
must  choose  a  moderator  and  clerk,  50. 

may  choose  prudential  committee  when  towns  so  determine,  51.  See  School  Committee. 
shall  choose  a  clerk,  who  shall  be  sworn,  and  record  and  certify  votes,  50,  51. 
clerk  of,  to  certify  to  assessors  votes  to  raise  money  for  building  houses,  &c.,  50,  51. 

to  be  liable  only  for  want  of  integrity,  51. 
liable  for  illegal  proceedings  in  raising  money,  51. 
may,  by  prudential  committee,  select  and  employ  instructors,  52. 
members  of,  competent  witnesses  by  or  against  the  district,  55. 

cannot  appear  and  be  heard  in  an  action  against  the  district,  47. 
liable  for  rent  of  schoolhouse,  hired  by  prudential  committee,  55. 
must  provide  schoolhouses,  when  towns  do  not,  56. 

if  unable  to  determine  where  schoolhouse  shall  stand,  selectmen  may  determine,  56. 
may  choose  committee  to  erect,  &c.,  schoolhouses,  56. 
money  raised  by,  to  be  applied  by  such  committee,  56. 
having  voted  to  raise  money,  may  rescind  the  vote  before  assessment,  56. 
when  may  take  land  for  schoolhouse,  56,  58,  59. 
may  unite  with  an  individual  in  erecting  a  schoolhouse,  59. 
inhabitants  of,  where  taxed,  60. 
when  property  of,  is  exempted  from  taxation,  63. 
certain  property  of,  exempt  from  taxation,  63. 
Contiguous,  districts  in  adjoining  towms  may  unite,  38,  63. 

how  may  separate,  38. 

terms  of  union,  635    first  meeting  of,  how  called,  63. 

may  prescribe  manner  of  calling  and  warning  other  meetings,  63. 

when  shall  choose  pmdential  committee,  51,  683  powers  of  such  commit 
tee,  63,  64. 

may  again  separate, — terms  of  separation,  63. 

clerk  of,  to  certify  vote  of  union  to  the  clerk  of  the  town,  63. 
to  certify  votes  to  raise  money,  64. 

shall  determine  what  proportion  of  money  shall  be  paid  by  inhabitants  of 
each  town,  64. 
powers,  committees,  duties  of  committees,  and  of  clerks  of  such  unions,  64—66. 
town  committee's  power  to  extend  to  such  districts,  66. 

adjacent  towns  may  unite  to  form,  for  the  establishment  of  a  high  school,  39,  66. 
committee  for,  how  formed,  66. 

to  erect  or  locate  house  for,  67. 
proportion  of  expenses  of,  how  borne  by  respective  tovnis,  67. 
authorized  to  raise  money  for  libraries,  and  apparatus,  126. 
SCHOOL  FUND,  for  encouragement  of  Common  Schools,  established,  136. 
amoimt  of,  and  from  what  sources  derived,  137. 

appropriations  and  payments,  for  the  purposes  of  education,  to  be  a  charge  upon,  137 
investment  of,  by  treasurer,  &c.,  137. 
limitation  of,  137. 
investment  of,  137. 


viii  INDEX. 

SCHOOL  FUND.    (Continued.) 

amount  of,  137. 

for  what  purposes  may  be  drawn  upon,  137. 

income  of,  how  and  by  whom  apportioned,  138. 

not  to  be  allowed  to  towns  that  neglect  to  make  certain  returns,  or  to  raise  a 
certain  yearly  sum  to  pay  instructors,  &,c.,  138. 

amount  of  city  and  town  tax,  raised  on  condition  of  receiving,  138. 

income  of,  how  and  on  what  conditions  to  be  appropriated,  138, 139. 

forfeited  by  cities  and  towns  neglecting,  «fcc.,  138,  139.    See  School  Committees. 
SCHOOLIIOUSES,  best  in  undistricted  towns,  3G. 

when  must  be  provided  by  the  towTi,  46. 

when  maij  be  provided  by  the  town,  46. 

how  property  in,  may  be  changed  from  districts  to  the  town,  47. 

to  be  kept  in  good  order  by  prudential  committee,  52. 

by  whom  to  be  kept  in  repair,  52. 
furnished,  52,  53. 

site  of,  to  be  fixed  by  selectmen,  if  district  cannot  determine,  56. 

may  be  erected,  &i.c.,  and  site  of  fixed  by  districts,  56. 

land  may  be  taken  and  laid  out  for,  in  certain  crises,  b}-  selectmen,  56. 
owner  of,  may  have  proceedings  revised  by  a  jury,  57. 

money  for,  may  be  voted  by  towns,  if  districts  refuse,  and  assessed  on  inhabitants  of 
districts,  57. 

location  of,  for  union  high  school,  65.    See  School  Districts. 

taxes  for.    See  Taxes.    Assessors.     Collectors. 
SCHOOL  LIBRARIES  AND   APPARATUS,  towns  and  districts  authorized  to  raise 
money  for,  126. 

manner  of  assessing  and  collecting  the  same,  126. 

inhabitants  of  school  districts  autliorized  to  raise  money  for  purchasing,  126. 

on  what  conditions,  towns  and  districts  may  receive  the  bounty  of  the  State  for  libra- 
ries, 127. 

whether  towns  or  districts  can  sell  libraries,  bought,  in  part,  with  town's  money,  qu.,  127. 
SCHOOLMASTERS.    See  Teachers. 
SCHOOL  MONEYS,  how  collected,  59. 

when  collected,  where  deposited,  45. 

how  apportioned,  45. 

principle  of  a  just  apportionment  slated,  46. 

when  voted  by  the  town,  to  what  objects  restricted,  46. 
SCHOOL  RETURNS,  blank  form  of,  to  be  furnished  to  towns  by  Secretary  of  Board  of 
Education,  110. 

form  of,  114. 

to  contain  answers  to  specified  questions,  114, 115,  116. 

to  be  made  yearly,  by  committees,  to  Secretary  of  State,  116. 
SCHOOL  RETURNS  AND  REGISTERS,  form  of,  &c.,  105—110. 

blanks  for,  to  be  distributed  by  Secretary,  104. 

abstract  of,  when,  how,  and  by  whom  prepared,  104.  119. 

Board  of  Education  to  prescribe  form  of,  105. 

teachers,  duty  of,  respecting,  105. 

not  entitled  to  pay,  until  such  duty  is  performed,  105. 

to  be  forwarded  to  sheriffs,  by  Secretary  of  Board  of  Education,  105,  125. 
duty  of,  as  to  distributing,  125. 

clerks  of  tovras  and  cities,  duty  of,  as  to,  125. 
of  districts,  duty  of,  as  to,  125. 

prudential  committee,  duty  of,  as  to,  126. 

how  disposed  of,  when  town  not  districted,  126. 

to  be  deemed  property  of  town  or  district,  126. 


INDEX.  ix 

SHERIFFS,  to  distribute  school  documents,  125. 
STATES  AND  TERRITORIES,  areas  of,  given,  34,  n. 
STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOLS,  value  of,  128. 

organization  of,  128. 

number  of,  and  date  of  commencement,  129. 

qualifications  for,  and  admission  to,  130. 

terms,  and  course  of  study  in,  130,  131. 

Visiters  of,  and  instructors  in,  131. 

Experimental  or  Model  School  connected  with,  131. 

salaries  of  teachers  of,  paid  by  the  State,  132, 

appropriation  for,  132. 
STATE  REFORM  SCHOOL,  description  of,  143. 

government  of,  144^ 

trustees  of,  how  appointed,  144. 

duly  and  powers  of  trustees  of,  144,  146. 

who  may  be  committed  to,  144. 

term  of  commitment  to,  144. 

inmates  of,  when  may  be  discharged,  144. 
instruction  of,  144. 

duties  of  officers  of,  144. 
STOCKS,  where  to  be  taxed,  60. 
SUPERINTENDENT,  agent  or  owner  of  manufacturing  establishineut.    See  Penalty. 

TAXES,  for  adult  schools,  how  levied,  36. 

upon  whom  to  be  levied,  60. 

to  whom  paid  over  when  levied  by  a  district,  61. 

when  inhabitants  remain  liable  to  be  taxed,  though  set  off  to  another  district,  61. 

when  not,  61. 

when  an  inhabitant,  in  an  action  to  recover  back  money,  cannot  object  that  collector 
was  not  a  legal  officer,  62. 
cannot  object  to  the  Wcirrant  by  which  a  district  meeting  was 
called,  62. 

town  not  liable  for,  when  taxes  are  voted  by  a  district,  63. 

when  school  district  property  is  exempted  from,  63,  136. 

of  contiguous  school  districts,  how  to  be  assessed,  64. 
TEACHERS,  cannot  enter  a  Public  School,  until  approved  by  the  committee,  69. 

cannot  receive  pay  until  certificate  is  filed  with  town  treasurer,  69, 

cannot  legally  commence  a  school,  without  a  certificate,  76. 

forfeit  all  claim  to  wages  if  without  a  certificate,  76, 

how  far,  teacher  without  a  certificate  may  be  liable,  77. 

authority  of,  within  the  schoolroom  and  precincts  of  the  schoolhouse,  97—100. 

has  a  claim  on  the  town,  for  his  wages,  100. 

when  not  liable  to  an  action  by  a  parent  for  refusing  to  instruct  his  children,  100. 

not  entitled  to  pay  until  they  have  filled  up  Register,  &c.,  105. 

county  associations  of,  appropriations  for,  141. 
TEACHERS'  ASSOCIATIONS,  when  entitled  to  aid  from  the  State,  141. 

warrant  for  such  aid,  how  to  be  drawn,  141. 
TEACHERS'  INSTITUTES,  object  of,  and  how  established  and  conducted,  132, 133, 134. 

fund  for,  established,  133. 

expenses  of,  how  defrayed,  133. 

Board  of  Education  to  determine  length  of  sessions  of,  133. 
TOWNS  AND  CITIES,  may  provide  schools  beyond  the  requisitions  of  the  law,  35. 

may  provide  schools  for  adults,  36. 

may  divide  territory  into  school  districts  or  not,  at  their  option,  36. 


X  INDEX. 

TOWNS  AND  CITIES.     (Continued.) 

whole  territory  of,  must  be  divided,  to  make  legal  districts,  37. 

any,  may  keep  a  high  school,  41. 

may  vote  money  for  the  support  of  schools,  42. 

may  vote  as  much  money  as  they  deem  necessary,  42. 

when  restricted  from  dividing  territory,  47. 

may  choose  prudential  committees,  or  devolve  choice  on  the  districts,  51. 

when  a  towii  or  district  may  elect  three  persons  as  a  prudential  committee,  51. 

may  determine  that  prudential  committee  shall  select  and  contract  with  teachers,  5-. 

such  vote  of,  in  force  but  for  one  year,  semble,  52. 

when  may  compel  districts  to  raise  money  for  lawful  purposes,  57,  58. 

when  town  may  appoint  a  committee  to  expend  money  which  it  has  compelled  a  dis- 
trict to  raise,  58. 

not  liable  for  tjixes  levied  and  collected  for  a  district,  63. 

liable  for  expense,  when  committees  print  their  reports,  118. 

have  no  jurisdiction  over  school  committees'  reports,  119. 

may  raise  money  for  libraries  and  apparatus,  126. 
TRE-\SURER,  town,  when  he  may  enforce  collection  and  payment  of  money,  59. 

compensation  of,  59,  60. 

liable  for  paying  money  for  a  teacher  before  a  certificate  of  his  qualification  is  fJled^S*?. 

UNION  SCHOOL  DISTRICTS,  object  and  powers  of,  38,  64. 

by  whom  named,  64. 

first  meeting  of,  how  called,  64. 

subsequent  meetings,  how  called,  65. 

must  choose  clerk  at  first  meeting,  63. 

for  what  purposes  may  raise  mone}',  65. 

may  determine  where  its  schoolhouse  shall  stand,  65. 

may  choose  any  committee  to  execute  its  legal  votes,  65'. 

who  to  be  the  prudential  committee  of,  65. 

powers  of  prudential  committee  of,  65,  66. 

schools  of,  do  not  supersede  the  district  schools,  66. 
UNIVERSITY  AT  CAMBRIDGE,  duty  of  officers  of,  70. 

VATTEM.\RE,  M.  objects  of,  for  literary  and  scientific  exchanges,  promoted,  146. 
VERMONT,  candidates  for  school  teachers  from,  74. 
VOTERS,  who  are  legal  for  school  purposes,  43. 

WARRANT,  subjects  to  be  acted  upon,  must  be  inserted  in,  43. 
WINTHROP'S  JOURNAL,  cited,  9. 


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